Noel Whelan told Soccer AM what life was like living with Gordon Strachan and his family in Coventry!
Living with Gordon was exactly what I needed, says Whelan
Noel Whelan dropped by the
Soccer AM studios on Saturday to talk about life after football and reminisce about his career.
The former Leeds and Coventry striker arrived in London on Friday night ahead of the show and revealed he spent a pleasant evening in front of the TV at Dennis Wise's house!
"We got there early evening and Claire, bless her, cooked us a bite to eat and we watched I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here - rock 'n' roll these days!"
It's all a far cry from the 35-year-olds more youthful days when he was ordered to sell his house and move in with Coventry City manager Gordon Strachan.
Whelan spent four-and-a-half-years with the Sky Blues and enjoyed the best spell of his career, but his love of the Midland's nightlife did not go down well with his boss.
After a number of warnings Strachan decided enough was enough and took his wayward striker into his own home where he could keep an eye on him.
And Whelan admitted he was grateful he did.
"I went through a bit of mad spell when I was at Coventry and got myself into a few scrapes and problems.
"I'd moved there as a young lad from Leeds and it was my first time away and you tend to do a little bit more socialising then you would've done back home where your family is.
"And in the end I think it was third strike, 'right, sell your house, you're living with me!' And that's what I did.
"They had the Whelan wing all setup with a padded cell and I had to be in at a certain time every night and he had to know where I was and who I was with.
"I don't think you would see it happening at all these days, but obviously I was at Leeds with Gordon and a lot of the reason I went to Coventry was because he was there.
"I think he just felt that I needed that father figure and some stability in my life, which is exactly what I needed at the time."
Havoc
While his time living with the Strachans had a positive effect overall and in particular on the football pitch it wasn't without complications.
With a 6pm curfew there was little time for the former Middlesbrough forward to socialise with his friends, while he admitted it also wreaked havoc with his love life!
"I came back after training one day and I said to (Gordon) is it OK to go to the cinema. And he was like 'yeah sure, who are you going with and where?'
"I said 'It's in Lemington and it's just me and Telf (Paul Telfer)'. So I'd just got my popcorn and my Fanta and I was nestling in nicely with my arm out and then all of a sudden Gordon, Leslie and the kids came in and I'm sitting there with this girl!
"He's gone 'alright Telf, you look different tonight'! I just sank a little bit further down (in my seat) with my popcorn! It wasn't very romantic!"
