Another one of our old players was in the news last weekend, albeit he was only an apprentice with me.

Dennis Wise, pictured, often gives credit to the upbringing he had at The Dell, with its dedicated staff, for the success he has achieved in a career which has brought him international caps, four FA Cup final appearances and three winner's medals.

Now he's taking on Manchester United as manager of Millwall, and who would bet against them?

I seem to remember another unfancied team with a price of about 5-1 before the game beating Manchester United...

One amusing sideline to it all was that Millwall chairman Theo Paphitas promised early in the season that he would run around a part of the East End naked if his team reached the final.

Just before I joined Southampton, my team, Grimsby, had won the championship and I was notified that a man working in one of the big companies in the docks, who supported someone else, had told everyone at work that we had no chance of the title and that, if we won it, he'd also run around naked.

I was invited to attend the ceremony and I can remember it clearly.

The whole workforce, from dockers to office girls, gathered around a quadrangle in the centre of the works.

There were people hanging out of windows and the whole local media circus was in attendance.

As the clock struck midday, a door in the far corner opened and a minder stepped out, surveyed the scene, and beckoned out the poor man.

He had on a pair of army boots and a full length overcoat which, as the clock stopped chiming, he took off and handed to the minder. He then proceeded on a leisurely jog around the square to cheers from the men and screams from the girls.

I remember it for a few reasons but mainly for a TV interview I did on the spot.

When trying to keep a straight face, I said "it was very brave of him, especially when one considers what his name is."

The young reporter, in all innocence, asked me to repeat the name and to this day I can still recall it was Dick Broadbent!

I read a national newspaper recently, one of those recalling events of 20, 30 and 40 years ago, etc. It actually mentioned that item of news happening in Grimsby all that time ago.