Bertie is getting more irritable as Rainbow starts coming into view

BEFORE any big prize fight, there’s always hype. Champion and challenger square up to each other at the weigh-in, glowering and trying to look as menacing as possible.

Sometimes things get out of hand. The champion, if he’s feeling a bit threatened, demands that they fight it out here and now. The seconds shout at each other, and the two managers each give press conferences at which the sole purpose is to disparage the other guy.

You get it a lot these days in English football, too. Time was when managers treated each other with respect, and behaved themselves as if the dignity of the game mattered.