Hard man Graeme Souness admits tea-lady forced him out of Rangers

Former Rangers manager Graeme Souness has confirmed that St Johnstone tea-lady Aggie forced him out of Scottish football!

A double from Mark Hateley gave Rangers a 2-1 win over the Saints in March 1991 but behind the scenes trouble was brewing in the visitors dressing room.

A month later Souness left Ibrox for Liverpool after a turbulent five year spell in charge of Rangers.

He admitted: “The tipping point came when we went to St Johnstone.

“We’d been there earlier in the season and there had been an incident with the tea-lady. Then we went back again for a night game and there was another incident.

“The boys were cleaning their boots in the dressing room and she took exception to that.

“She stormed up to see her chairman and I followed up behind her.

“I had an argument with their chairman and I knew within myself that I was ready to explode.

“I knew then I was ready to lash out. But I just walked out and drove back to Edinburgh.

“It was on that trip I decided I had to get out of here.”

Within a month Souness left Rangers for Liverpool with Walter Smith being promoted to manager after taking over on a caretaker basis.

Souness’s time at Anfield triggered the end of Liverpool’s domination of English football.

The league championship, or Premiership, hasn’t been won since Souness dismantled Kenny Dalglish’s side with the famous Anfield boot room another victim of his arrival.

In the decade prior to Souness’s arrival the club won six championship’s and two European Cup’s but the return on their former captain brought just one FA Cup win before he was sacked in 1994 following a home defeat from Bristol City.

Looking back at his final days at Rangers Souness admitted: “For a good two years I lived on Solpadeine to take my headaches away.

“I’d take them before I went to bed, I’d to take them in the middle of the night, I’d take them when I got out of bed, I’d take them after training. And this was all to do with high blood-pressure.”

Souness was speaking in the latest edition of Radio Scotland’s series Managing The Old Firm.