Kenny Dalglish: When I invited opposition managers into my office, the rule was to talk about anything except football

THE fallout from last weekend’s Manchester derby continues to make the headlines.

Only the people who were in the inner sanctum at Old Trafford at full-time last Sunday will know exactly what happened.

The English FA are now going to study written evidence from both clubs to see if any further action is required.

According to some reports, water bottles were flying around and pints of milk were thrown because Jose Mourinho and his United players felt the Manchester City management and players had displayed a lack of class and dignity as they celebrated their 2-1 victory.

Supposedly, tempers frayed and several players were involved in a brawl in the corridor outside the dressing rooms.

Mourinho has since claimed that City lacked education in how to celebrate, but Pep Guardiola has insisted his players and backroom staff were well within the boundaries of what he regarded as acceptable practice.

Without being armed with all the facts, I can only generalise.

But I would never blame players or managers for celebrating a victory – especially in a derby game.

It’s their prerogative. And you’d be a very sad person if you didn’t wish to make the most of an important three points.

I’m also fairly certain that Jose has enjoyed more than his fair share of celebrating over the years. It’s how the game works.

However, I do accept that you must be respectful and, at certain points, restrained.

I can’t recall any major incidents in the tunnel when I was in the game, certainly nothing to the scale of what has been reported to have gone on at Old Trafford.

When I was a player and a manager, I loved nothing better than winning a game of football. It’s what my working week was geared towards.

We wanted to beat our opponents, win silverware, do ourselves proud and allow our fans to celebrate and enjoy the particular moment.

But I did try to be mindful of the other team.

I liked to celebrate, but I tried to make a point of not gloating.

There is a difference.

Sure, there was passion and commitment in victory, and I wanted to see my team-mates and players show that intensity when we won.

But we tried to never cross the line.

One thing is for sure, when we did celebrate success, there would not have been a bottle of water or pint of milk in sight!

We’d have been arrested if we were caught drinking milk!

It was always something a little stronger, a glass of wine or a beer.

That was more like it!

Also, as a manager, I had a rule for when the opposition manager and backroom staff came into my office after a game.

We never discussed the match. The 90 minutes that had just finished were off limits. Win, lose or draw, I didn’t think there was anything to be gained by talking about the game.

People could still be raw half-an-hour after the final whistle.

So, there was no point in pouring fuel on the flames, so to speak.

Whether it was Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Robson, George Graham, Harry Redknapp or Arsene Wenger, we would talk about movies, cars, holidays – anything other than the football.

And, I have to say, I enjoyed the company of all of the opposition managers I encountered.

It was nice to sit for 15 minutes and have a glass of wine with them. Of course, it tasted nicer if you had just won the game!

There were times I was upset if we had lost, but I would always try to show my appreciation of the other team.

At the end of the day, it wasn’t their fault if they had played better than you on the day and won. You couldn’t blame them for that.

You had to learn from it, and try to be better the next weekend and not put yourself back in that situation.

But, getting back to the present, no matter what went on after the Manchester derby, what is not in doubt is just how good Manchester City are.

They are playing some delightful football and breaking records along the way.

The league is now theirs to lose and they can only throw it away.

Yes, I’m aware that there are more than 50% of the league games still to play, but I can’t see any side stopping them as they’ve set a very high standard.

Other teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Spurs have also been on good runs at points during the season, but they have also faltered at certain times.

City, on the other hand, have been relentless and I can’t see past them.