Manchester United stars rarely got on the wrong side of Sir Alex Ferguson and survived at the club to tell the tale, especially the one who responded by aiming a shotgun at the boss.
But that's what one of Ferguson's key men did in response to a heated row back in the 1993/94 campaign, a season that yielded the second of the Scottish manager's 13 Premier League titles in charge. In April that season though, the outcome was anything but a formality, with United beating Norwich 3-1 to close gap on Aston Villa to a single point.
For a man who would become defined by demanding the very best, the three points weren't enough. Rather than laud the performance, he chose instead to lambast midfielder Paul Ince, who had failed to tee up Eric Cantona for a simple chance during the game.
Ferguson had acknowledged every member of his squad as they came into the dressing room, but changed his tone when the England international arrived. The furious rant has been revealed in the book On Days Like These: The Lost Memoir of a Goalkeeper - which chronicles the life of the late ex-United keeper Les Sealey.
The Telegraph report how Ferguson ranted: “I’m disappointed in you, Ince. When the f** are you going to learn to look up when you’re on a run?”
A shellshocked Ince then lunged for Ferguson, who unsurprisingly refused to back down. With only the treatment table standing between the pair and a physical altercation, Ince was held back by teammates as he shouted: “If that’s what you think, why don’t you sell me, you c**t? Go on then, f***ing sell me. You haven’t got the f***ing bottle, have you?”
In the end, it was centre back Steve Bruce who proved the peacemaker. With both figures refusing to retreat, he said: “Can I remind everyone in this room that we have just beaten Norwich 3–1?" which prompted Ince to sit down, before Ferguson left the room to face the media.
is Sir Alex Ferguson the greatest club manager of all time? Share your views in the comments below
To Ince's credit, albeit fuelled by bravery and perhaps insanity, he then opted to play a joke on his boss in a bid to simmer the feud. In the week that followed, with Ferguson in his office at the club's training base, the now 81-year-old looked up to see a rifle pushing through the gap in the door.
It suddenly flung open, with a laughing Ince saying: “Don’t worry, gaffer. It’s not loaded.” Whilst the comical incident may have helped briefly temper Ferguson's attitude towards the star, he did later prove he had the "bottle," to sign him, offloading him to Inter Milan after the 1994/95 campaign.
Indeed, the iconic boss would later revel the extent of his tempestuous relation with Ince, labelling him a "bottler" and a "big-time Charlie." He also criticised him for dubbing himself The Guvnor, with Ince hardly helping relations by returning from his stint in Italy and signing's for United's arch-rivals Liverpool.
