Andy Cole reveals reasons of Newcastle row with Kevin Keegan

Watch Andy Cole: Sports Life Stories on ITV4 10pm Tuesday March 10 Credit: ITV

In October 1993, Andy Cole was accused of walking out on Newcastle after a training ground bust-up with then-manager, Kevin Keegan.

In an ITV exclusive documentary, the Manchester United legend talks about being the second highest goalscorer in Premier League history, winning the Champions League in 1999, and his rows with numerous managers - including Keegan.

Cole sheds the light on what really happened in an argument that saw the striker miss a vital game for Newcastle.

“I felt so tired, and I couldn’t get myself going," Cole told ITV, "He [Keegan] said, ‘Don’t you fancy it today?’ So I said to him, ‘No I don’t fancy it today.’ So he said, ‘Well if you don’t fancy it you can do one.’ So I said, ‘Okay, not a problem to me,’ and I just walked off.

“I got in a taxi and my girlfriend then, she was at home so I just ended up going to hers. And I remember I rang the doorbell and she said to me, ‘What are you doing here, you’ve got a game tonight haven’t you?’’ “I said I just walked out of there, I couldn’t be bothered."

Keegan, who also contributes to the documentary, said: “We went to play the game, no Andy Cole and we lost, and we go in Friday for training, we’ve got a game on Saturday. Andy poked his head round [the door] and he just said, ‘Gaffer, what do I do now?’ I said, ‘I’ll tell you what to do, you go out, you train properly and if I think you are fit enough I will put you in the team tomorrow.’

"He came out, he trained properly and I put him in the team. I think he scored a goal, I think he may have scored two, and it was forgotten.”

But it wasn’t entirely forgotten, says Andy, who was sold to Manchester United in January 1995: “I knew my relationship with Kevin then was never the same. We knew it wasn’t the same kind of spark that we had and whatever, so I knew it was a bit of borrowed time.”

With contributions from former managers Sir Alex Ferguson, Kevin Keegan and Denis Smith alongside former team-mates Ryan Giggs, Dwight Yorke and Sol Campbell and members of his family, the programme traces Cole's journey from playing school football in Nottingham to winning an historic treble with Manchester United, his short-lived rap career and his current role as a club ambassador.

  • Watch Andy Cole: Sports Life Stories on ITV4 10pm Tuesday March 10