Neil Warnock has still to decide whether he will shake Rafael Benítez's hand when Chelsea visit Elland Road for Wednesday evening's Capital One Cup quarter-final.
The Leeds United manager fell out with his Chelsea counterpart when Benítez, then in charge of Liverpool, fielded a severely weakened team at Fulham in May 2007 as he prepared for a Champions League final in Athens. Fulham won 1-0, subsequently escaping relegation by a single point at the expense of Warnock's then Sheffield United side.
Warnock pronounced himself "very bitter" and said he hoped Liverpool would "never win another trophy under Benítez". The Leeds manager added this week: "I've no idea whether I'll shake his hand. It was one of those things that disappoint you in life but you get disappointments and you have to get on with it.
"I haven't thought about shaking hands yet. But I don't think I should get into that because the last time I heard from Rafa he was threatening to sue me if I mentioned [the row] again. It was an email and I think it was his solicitor who was threatening legal action but I think it had Rafa's name on it. I've got it in a scrapbook at home."
If Benítez probably should not bank on being invited into Warnock's office for a post-match glass of wine, his Leeds counterpart has at least mellowed considerably since 1991.
Back then Warnock, performing wonders at Notts County, declined an offer of the Chelsea job from Ken Bates, now his chairman in west Yorkshire. "I don't have any regrets really," Warnock said. "I was a northern lad and I thought anywhere south of Watford was the end of the world in those days.
"I went down twice, once to the ground and once to Ken's farm in Beaconsfield, and I was stuck on the motorway for five hours on both occasions.
"I also wanted to stay loyal to a group of players at Notts County who had been fantastic to me. It was to do with the way I'd been brought up. I thought I made the right decision; it was the decision which meant I could still live with myself."
The Chelsea job eventually went to the late Ian Porterfield, but Warnock has since relaxed his views. "I'm not into this loyalty thing now," he said. "My advice to young managers is: 'If you get a chance to go to a bigger club, go.' You'll get the sack anyway so why not take the opportunity. You get kicked in the teeth if you stay so you can't win either way."
He would not have said "no" had Roman Abramovich asked him rather than Benítez to succeed Roberto Di Matteo. "I wish I could have had Chelsea now," Warnock added. "Yes, I should have got it this last time. Roman hasn't had an Englishman in the job, has he?"
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