Former Manchester United kit manager Albert Morgan always tells a good tale and he is the next guest on UTD Podcast, with the episode due to be released on Monday evening.
One of his dressing-room stories focused on an amusing incident during an away game at Sunderland in the 2010/11 season.
The October fixture was one that United needed to win to help keep up with Premier League leaders Chelsea but Sir Alex Ferguson's side had their preparations ruined, with Dimitar Berbatov particularly upset at the carnage that unfolded at the Stadium of Light.
“When we got to the ground, there was a ‘drip, drip, drip’, they had a bucket under this drip and they said: 'Oh, we’ve got a leak in the ceiling'. So all the boys were getting ready, they’re all walking around this bucket, the manager was sat in the corner, like he did. He had done his team-talk at the hotel and was reading the match programme. We all went out on the pitch for the warm-up.
“We’d been out there for a few minutes and one of the security guards came and said: ‘Albert, I think you'd better come in the dressing room, that bucket’s getting a bit full’. By the time we got back in the changing room, the bucket had been changed to a bin.
“Well, we walked in and they had these ceiling tiles, before you could say ‘whip’, one of the ceiling tiles just burst out. S**t everywhere! The gaffer just got out. It was all over the suits, the clothes, up the walls, up the ceiling. Berbatov was going mad about his shoes. His shoes had just sunk in three inches of s**t.”
“You couldn’t save a thing. Everything was gone - shoes, suits. The only thing we could do was go into the lads’ socks and shoes to get the jewellery and watches. This is 10 to three. The game kicks off at three. Shirts are all splattered in s**t. They had to put the game back half an hour.
“All the players were saying I’m not playing in that.”
Fortunately, Albert had brought a spare set of kit, which the players were able to change into, and a crisis was averted, with a goalless draw being played out in a disappointing match.
“He came in through a door at the back of the dressing room,“ added Morgan. ”He had this brush, it must have been 14-foot wide. And there’s big Brucey coming in at the back just shovelling this s**t out of the dressing room.
“We just put the suits in black bags and destroyed the lot!”
The full episode of UTD Podcast, featuring Albert Morgan, will be available on Deezer and other podcast providers from Monday evening. Find previous editions at manutd.com/podcast.