Paddy Kenny says Kevin Blackwell tried to fight him on Christmas Day when he was Sheffield United manager.
The former goalkeeper spent eight years at Bramall Lane, playing over 300 times for the club. The Blades signed Kenny from Bury, where he worked under Blackwell and Neil Warnock.
Warnock reunited with the ex-Republic of Ireland international in South Yorkshire in 2002. Once again, Blackwell was there on his coaching staff.
After time in charge at Leeds United and Luton Town, the 61-year-old returned to the Blades as boss in 2008.
By that point, Kenny had moved on from being a youngster to become an experienced member of the squad. The 42-year-old told the Under The Cosh podcast they “clashed big time” and Blackwell didn’t like him “standing up to him.”
SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
Paddy Kenny and almost fighting the Sheffield United boss
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Then on Christmas Day 2008, ahead of a Boxing Day fixture with Wolverhampton Wanderers, tempers boiled over.
“He sent me home on Christmas Day for being three minutes late for training,” Kenny said.
“As I was going out he pulled me into the physio room and he wanted to fight me!”
A few weeks later, Blackwell explained his reasoning. Kenny wasn’t convinced, continuing:
“I didn’t play for three or four games and when he brought me back in I was playing really well. He pulled me into his office and said; ‘you weren’t playing too well before that and that’s why I did it. I wanted a reaction’.
“I was like; ‘f*** off.'”
This wasn’t the first time Blackwell had rubbed Kenny up the wrong way. In 2005, when the former was Leeds manager, they faced the Blades at Elland Road.
Kenny says Blackwell had slagged off him and his teammates after leaving for the Whites. So he enjoyed when the Blades won 4-0 and “rammed those words down his throat”.
