Alan Dunne - Dunne It the Hard Way: The Remarkable Story of a Millwall Legend

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2016

Pitch Publishing

A2 Yeoman Gate

Yeoman Way

Durrington

BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

Alan Dunne with Chris Davies, 2016

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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library

Print ISBN 978-1-78531-130-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-78531-173-4

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To mum Elizabeth and dad Paul, my wife Aimee, my two beautiful children Lola and Shay, and not forgetting our little English bulldog Louis.

CHRISTOPHER DAVIES became a Millwall fan aged eight and is happy to be serving a life sentence with no chance of parole. He has worked for the South London Press, Shoot, the Daily Star and, for 20 years, the Daily Telegraph. A former chairman of the Football Writers Association, he is a regular contributor to talkSPORT. He has written a book of his travels, Behind The Back Page, edited Forgive Us Our Press Passes and, in 2015, United In Europe the most comprehensive book of Manchester Uniteds continental history was published by Pitch Publishing. Based in Bromley, he is almost as good a cook as he thinks he is and will be friends with anyone who buys him a bottle of Villa Maria Clifford Bay sauvignon blanc.

T HE BIGGEST influences on my life and career have been my mum Elizabeth, my dad Paul and my wife Aimee. Without their love and encouragement a tearaway teenage Alan Dunne would not have become the captain of Millwall. In fact, I dread to think which course my life could have taken.

My mum died when I was 18 I think of her and miss her every single day.

I was not the ideal son, but my dad never gave up on me. I wish I had listened to his advice when he told me about the company I was keeping. He took drastic steps to ensure I gave myself the best possible chance of becoming a professional footballer and for that I can never thank him enough.

Aimee, our daughter Lola and our son Shay, are a wonderful, constant reminder that there is something far more important than football.

I served under many managers at The Den but the one who had the most influence on me was Kenny Jackett, so a special thanks to him and for writing the foreword.

Without my Millwall team-mates and the backing of the brilliant Millwall fans my career would not have been so enjoyable, while former chairman Theo Paphitis and current incumbent John Berylson have been incredibly supportive, along with chief executive Andy Ambler, directors James Berylson, Constantine Gonticas, Trevor Keyse, Demos Kouvaris, Richard Press and Peter Garston. I cannot forget Bob Pearson and Jeff Burnige who were a huge help along the way. And I cannot forget Nicolle Barber and Karen Wilson who have been so good to me.

My friend Tommy Pratt, of Southwark Metals, is a lifelong Millwall fan. Tommy sponsored me during my Lions career, his generosity matched only by the influence of his goldfish that helped us survive relegation (see ).

Had it not been for the input of Chris Davies this book would not have been possible. I am not sure which he found the more demanding drinking my coffee or putting my thoughts into words. It was a huge help that Chris is a Millwall supporter and understands what the club are all about.

Thanks mate, pop round for a coffee any time.

A tip of the hat to Steve Clarke and Ken Reynolds for casting a critical eye over the final draft; to Stela Bancheva for research; to Michael Calvin for his help in getting the book up and running; plus Brian Tonks for supplying the photographs of my Millwall career.

Last, but by no means least, thanks to Paul Camillin of Pitch Publishing for enabling this footballer to become an author.

Enjoy.

W HEN I came to Millwall in November 2007 they were fourth from bottom in League 1. Dunney writes that I took some time to work him out. Well, thats one way of putting it!

I thought he had a lot of ability and great athleticism for a defender, but needed some direction. All the good things were there, he just had to curb his wild side because he was very competitive.

I think I worked him out okay and he responded well. It was just that his competitiveness at times was counter-productive and he had to channel this into a more positive direction. When he was sent off on his second league start for Leyton Orient he said he never touched the Crawley guy Ive had that conversation with him a few times!

He has a very competitive nature, real fire in his belly, an absolute will to win and to compete. With all this it can be easy to give fouls away and get booked.

The Den is a very emotive place and Millwall fans love a player who shows the spirit and effort demanded. My job... my challenge...was to restrain Dunney a little while taking nothing away from his incredible desire to win. I loved the raw ingredients he had. I had to teach him to use the high level of competitiveness he always possessed for the benefit of the team.

Alan responded well. He had a lot of natural ability and once he rounded off the edges, harnessing the many good assets he had and controlling the competitive nature, he turned into a well-disciplined professional very quickly and gave the club many outstanding performances.

When I first knew him he was quite quiet, but I felt he had enough personality to help other people and influence the team. He had a decent understanding of rights and wrongs as a player and person. Dunney knew when the lads were out of order and when they had stepped out of line.

This grew to such an extent that he eventually became Millwall captain, which I always felt would happen naturally as he became older. I cannot say this was all down to me, but it was good to hear that Dunney has said so many nice things about me in his book. I do appreciate that.

Dunney wasnt always a popular figure with the supporters, but had perseverance and Millwall fans love someone who fights back, which he did. If things werent going well for him or the side, his response was always to dig in, get his tackles in and pass the ball positively which really helps. When a side is having a bad run, you need leaders...people with determination to put on a performance that can turn things round.

He has an incredible ability, guts and determination to battle and reprove himself which hes shown on many occasions. Millwall fans really took to him for that.

I remember one game in particular during my last year when Millwall played Crystal Palace, who went on to be promoted shortly after this match. He had Wilfried Zaha in his pocket. The draw went a long way to helping us to stay up in the Championship Dunney certainly played his part, not just against Palace but the whole season.

Off the field I know he is devoted to his wife Aimee and his kids Lola and Shay. Everything centres around them, which I find quite admirable. Believe it or not he was, to some degree, rather shy initially, but I always knew there was a shrewd football brain there and as Dunney has got older this has developed.