Day Ken Bates fought with Dennis Wise

PRICE TAGS were never a concern of mine but in January 1992 Chelsea got me cheap at £250,000. There were big personalities in that dressing room: Andy Townsend, Vinnie Jones, Paul Elliott, Dave Beasant, Steve Clarke, Dennis Wise, Kerry Dixon — a mainstay striker for so many years.

I was confident I could hit the ground running but the build-up to my first home game, against Manchester United, gave me a snapshot of what I’d walked into. I was changing next to Kerry and roughly 45 minutes ahead of play, the dressing room door bowled open and in walked Ken [Bates] with his huge fur coat billowing along behind him.

‘Right lads…’ he said, before Wisey interrupted.

‘What the f***ing hell have you got on?’ he said. I had to remind myself this was the club captain talking to the chairman.

‘You are just a little s**t,’ Ken replied before adding: ‘And I could still knock you out.’

Wisey’s eyes widened at that comment. ‘Come on then, old man!’

And they went for each other. Wisey threw Ken on the floor in the middle of the dressing room. Water bottles went flying and as some of the lads were pushed back, a scrap ensued.

I turned to Kerry. ‘What the f*** is going on here? Do we break it up?’

‘Oh, no,’ Kerry replied. ‘Every time he comes into the dressing room they have a wrestle or a fight.’ Eventually one of the backroom staff got involved to break it up. Ken reorganised himself and caught his breath.

‘You are still a little s**t,’ he said to Wisey, before turning to leave. ‘And the rest of you… you’d better f***ing win today.’

Chairmen often come into dressing rooms. That’s commonplace. But a pre-match scrap? Yet Ken loved it. Ken just loved the banter.