Keith Gillespie has seen most things in life. But not this. Not half a dozen men in balaclavas armed with baseball bats storming the function room in which we are sitting.
Earlier in the day, over a couple of pints just around the corner from Newcastle United's St James' Park, Gillespie had journeyed through stories of gambling, fighting, sex, drinking and Spanish prisons, offering them as reasons why he is now well placed to guide the next generation of young footballers.
As the 43-year-old put it: 'I was a winger from Northern Ireland playing for Manchester United, so they obviously called me the next George Best… I went on to emulate him — off the pitch anyway'.