Aston Villa star Matt Lowton has weighed in on the ball boy behaviour row by revealing that he was taught ball boy time wasting tactics by none other than former top flight manager Neil Warnock.
Lowton was an apprentice at Sheffield United when Warnock - a former Leeds, Crystal Palace and QPR manager - was the boss at Bramall Lane during their last stint in the Premier League in 2006-07.
And apparently the outspoken Warnock was determined to keep his men in the top flight by any means possible - even if it meant using the ball boys.
Matt Lowton: "We were schooled in how to use a little gamesmanship to help the team. It was part of our apprenticeship under Warnock.
"He wanted us to study the first team and get a feel for how things were done at that level.
"He even taught tactics for ballboys. He reckoned we had an important role to play when big clubs came to Bramall Lane.
"He taught us when to get the ball back quickly – and when not to!"