Mick McCarthy says he and Leeds manager Neil Warnock go back a long way to their time together as players at the Blues boss’s hometown club Barnsley.
McCarthy said: "I know Warny, he’s a mate of mine, I played with him at Barnsley when I was 16 to 18, he’d have been about 29 or 30 because he’s considerably older than me.
"His teams work hard, they graft, they’re hard to beat and he’s got a good pedigree in this league. And he’s got some good players, I was watching them this morning.”
How did McCarthy rate Warnock as a player? "Hopeless! He was a much-travelled winger. He was all right actually, I’m doing him a bit of a disservice. I used to play with him in the reserves.
"He usually gives me dog’s abuse before we play them, so I’m just getting my retaliation in first!” he joked.
"I enjoyed playing with him for a couple of years when I was an apprentice at Barnsley. He was a considerably senior pro compared to me.
"He tells everybody that I used to clean his boots, which I’m sure I did because I had to clean everybody’s and he delights in telling everybody!
"He polarises opinion, Warny, he’s much-maligned at times because he’s had great success, he’s had about seven promotions. He’s got a great record.”
Plenty of managers have touchline tales to tell regarding Warnock but McCarthy has no complaints: "He’s competitive, like his teams.
"He’s combative, he’s on the sidelines chirping away and says things. I can be a bit guilty of that as well, trying to get my team going. He’s fine, he’s been a mate of mine for a long time.”