Neil Warnock has come down firmly in favour of managers who rage, roar and boot the water bottle.
The Cardiff City manager – whose team host Wolves on Friday, a fixture that will revive memories of his infamous spat with Nuno Espirito Santo last season – believes passion on the touchline is good for the game.
With the debate over managerial behaviour back in the spotlight after Jose Mourinho’s celebrations following Marouane Fellaini’s Champions League winner for Manchester United on Tuesday, Warnock has backed bosses with bravado.
Mourinho kicked a water bottle carrier and threw another into the ground after Fellaini scored against Young Boys to secure the Red Devils’ passage to the last 16 of the competition.
“I thought it was brilliant, to show the passion and throw a few water bottles down on the ground,” Warnock said.
“I like him. He starts talking about his wins and his Champions Leagues, but if I’d got that I’d shove it up people as well.
“It’s an amazing record and the people who criticise him, well, very few of them have never been near the dugout or had to make a decision under pressure.”
Wolves won a dramatic game at the Cardiff City Stadium in the Championship in April to take a huge leap towards their eventual promotion to the Premier League.
The Bluebirds missed two late penalties and Nuno celebrated wildly at the end of the match, walking past Warnock’s attempt at shaking hands in a desperate hurry to get on to the field.
That prompted the veteran manager, who will turn 70 on Saturday, to angrily refuse to shake Nuno’s hand moments later and he went on to describe his opposite number as a “total disgrace”.
But Warnock has revealed he has smoothed things over with his Portuguese rival and they exchanged “hugs” at a recent League managers’ meeting.
Warnock added: “I’ve already shaken hands with him. I spoke to him last year. It’s not all about money and he did a good job last year.
“I’ve always liked Wolves. We met up at the LMA. He’s a big bloke and he gave me a squeeze. I think it was a nice one!”
For his part, Nuno has also insisted the feud is already at an end and he insisted: “It is totally over.
“We had a chance to speak and we clarified things. Now I can say we are good friends. Both teams want the same so let’s try to be better than them – but always with respect.
“It was a fantastic game last season. It was a very emotional game. Both teams know each other well, and we expect a tough game.”
Wolves have only earned one point in their past five matches, and slumped to a 2-0 defeat at home to Huddersfield on Sunday.
Warnock added: “Wolves and ourselves are both under pressure. But it’s a different type of pressure.
“When you spend £100m, you have pressure. But you also have top players. I wouldn’t mind a bit of that pressure.
“But there’s only 20 teams so everyone’s under pressure.”
