Paul Warne interview:

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0 Comments This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald. "The world's that crazy that you're not allowed to say, or it's politically incorrect, to admit what team you support. I don't see why that's a problem. I’m entitled to say or sing from the rooftops that I want Norwich to do well."

Paul Warne has never hidden his colours. The fact that the MK Dons head coach is a Norwich City supporter is an open secret, but walking into the Carrow Road dugout this weekend gives that loyalty a different weight.

In many ways, he’s right. Nowadays, coaches and managers aren’t as explicit about who they support for fear of how it gets interpreted. With Warne, his Norfolk twang makes it inevitable in one respect, but his attachment to Norwich runs much deeper than that – rooted in family, memory and the emotional pull of his boyhood club.

That is what makes this weekend's trip to Carrow Road different for the 53-year-old. Not least because, as he admits with a smile, he has spent the week making sure those closest to him are in their seats.

"I've got like 14 having a meal and then another 14 in the away end," he told the Pink Un. "I don't really ever have that problem with tickets unless I play in Norwich. Most of my family and friends, and virtually everyone I grew up with, is a Norwich fan. I'm very interlinked to this game."

His allegiances are so well known that the first Warne heard of the tie with his boyhood club was a message from one of his MK Dons players, jokingly asking whether they were having a team meeting the next morning to start preparations.

Warne even used a photo of himself wearing a yellow and green kit in a video montage to the song 'Younger You' by Miley Cyrus, designed to help provide motivation at a key stage of their promotion push from League Two last season.

"I'm sitting reading the last handout and the meeting we're going to show the lads before the game, and just to see the Norwich badge on it just feels different to me, I'm not lying about that," he admitted.

"If I'm honest, the more I've done it and played and managed against them, the more diluted it has become. Because when you work in football all the time, the romance of being a fan of a club is diluted.

Football management has made Norwich City fandom harder for Norfolk boy Paul Warne. (Image: PA)

"It's still a result I look for, but if my mate said 'have you seen Norwich have signed that new midfielder?', I'd say 'no, I have enough of my own problems today without actually scanning who they've signed.'"

Like so many young people in Norfolk, some of Warne's earliest football memories involve visiting Carrow Road and experiencing his first taste of the game alongside his dad.

Even though his attempts to convert his own children into Norwich supporters have yet to succeed, Warne warmly recalls discovering football through the Canaries.

"I went to Norwich games with my dad. I always remember the first time I went to Carrow Road: there was a woman pushing a sweet trolley around the perimeter of the pitch. I remember my dad buying me a tube of Munchies for my first game.

"Everyone's romantic story is the same about the floodlights hitting the pitch and all that, but it was a big deal. My first memory was getting a tube of munchies, being with just my dad, and then getting in the car on the way home, when he put Radio 5 on for the score roundup. It was beyond magical.

"It's just in your blood, isn't it? There's literally nothing you can do. One of the biggest moments in my whole life was my eighth birthday, and I got the full Norwich City kit, shorts, top and socks. It was the coolest thing ever, getting a football kit.

Robert Rosario was one of Paul Warne's Norwich City favourites. (Image: Newsquest)

"Then I can remember when I had a picture with the team. You could go to the training ground, pay some money, and you could have a picture with the Norwich team. They’d have the team photo, and the kids would just stand in the seats between the lines. I had mine with Peter Mendham, then I ended up playing for him when I was playing non-league. That was like an absolute starstruck moment for my whole family tree."

His childhood was spent idolising City heroes, which helped propel him into a playing career that began in Norfolk non-league with Great Yarmouth, Diss and Wroxham before spells with Wigan, Oldham and Yeovil, and, most prominently, Rotherham United.

"I remember Keith Bertschin, who was a centre forward. I loved him. I was never going to be like him, unfortunately," Warne said.

"I used to think that Robert Rosario was the coolest man who had ever lived. He was like James Bond in my head. He came to my school's end-of-season presentation thing. I just thought, wow, what a guy he was. He was like six foot five and beyond handsome.

"Then I always remember Disco Dale Gordon was always a big hero of mine. My dad loved Mick Channon and Greg Downs.

"My third pro contract was with John Deehan, and he was like a hero of mine when I was a kid. So I was a little bit star-struck. Even when he told me off, I used to think, well, it's nice coming from John, though, isn't it? It's quite an honour for him to tell me I'm rubbish. I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Paul Warne's last visit to Carrow Road came five years ago as Rotherham United manager behind closed doors. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Warne’s visit to Carrow Road will be his third as a manager after two previous trips with Rotherham United, although the second came behind closed doors. He was also sacked as Derby County boss less than 24 hours before a planned visit to Norfolk two seasons ago.

With added family inside the ground and his emotional attachment to the club, it is inevitable that this latest visit will carry extra weight – particularly as his mind turns to those no longer around to see him manage against his boyhood team.

"It will be different, and I'm quite happy to be that emotional guy. I want to enjoy everything I do," Warne said.

"I know that when I turn up for the game, I'll go outside and walk on the pitch on my own and be quite emotional about my father not being there, and my grandparents would have been buzzing if they saw me manage there. It will definitely have a much bigger emotion for me."

There is a unique relationship that Norwich fans share with Warne. He has never played, managed or coached at the club, yet is viewed positively and with admiration by Canaries supporters in the main.

Paul Warne has played and managed against Norwich City throughout his career in professional football. (Image: Newsquest)

That warmth isn’t typical for opposition coaches, but there will be plenty pleased to see Warne return to Norfolk on Saturday as MK Dons boss.

“That’s nice to know,” Warne said when he was told there are plenty of Norwich supporters who view him warmly.

"I mean, when I come back to Norwich, I don't have people throwing tomatoes at me, which is quite pleasant and as an away manager, that's quite good.

"Norwich is a great place to live. All my family and friends still live there. I love Norwich and Norfolk. We are all interconnected, and we all sort of keep an eye out for each other, if that makes sense. I feel like my accent will come back in a day.

"I know the game's going to be difficult. But from an emotional point of view, I'm just going to enjoy it. If I’m going to lose to anyone, then Norwich is the team I could accept it against best."