Former Dundee manager John Brown says he will never make peace with Dark Blues hero Rab Douglas.
The pair had a spectacular row at Dens in March 2013 after the signing of replacement goalie Steve Simonsen.
A war of words broke out in the media months later, with Brown slamming Douglas’ version of events and urging clubs not to sign him.
The keeper later admitted he may have crossed the line with some of the language he used during the bust-up but promised to have his say in a book one day.
He confirmed in 2017, he recorded the exchange with his former Dee boss – who played for the Dark Blues in the 80s – due to the absence of the club’s PFA Scotland representative that day.
Rangers idol Brown this week spoke about his life in football with Hoops legend Frank McAvennie and journalist Simon Houston on the Let Me Be Frank Podcast, sponsored by SportsCasting.
He said: “I’ll never speak to him again.”
Brown claims the row erupted after a goalkeeping crisis at Dundee, with Douglas carrying an injury and his only other option a 17-year-old rookie.
‘Get out the building’
He continued: “The physio and the doctor said he wouldn’t be available [for the next game].
“Steve Simonsen signs.
“I brought Rab in on the Thursday morning to say, ‘Listen we’ve signed Steve Simonsen – you’ve been brilliant for me and as soon as you’re fit, you’re fighting with him for a place.
“He called me a couple of things and I had to say, ‘Go and get your gear on, get out the building, you’ll never play for this club as long as I’m here again.”
Brown added: “And it transpires that he was recording the conversation in my office.
“He was wanting to do a book. He had no permission to record anything.
“I don’t know what he was thinking about.”
‘He did a great job for me’
Brown, 62, is complimentary about the performances Douglas – who left the club that summer – put in for Dundee during his time as manager.
He said: “When he was on the pitch and he was fit, he did a great job for me.
“But I wouldn’t go into detail about what he said [at the meeting]. By the way he’s a big lad!
“It’s sad it ended that way.
“I thought, ‘No, you want to speak to me like that then you’re not going to be in my team’
“I couldn’t let him away with that.
“He had a great career down at Celtic, getting to a European final [when Celtic lost out on the Uefa Cup to Jose Mourinho’s Porto].
“It was a sad one. He’s still loved by the Dundee support there too.
“But things happen in football.
“You either stand up and be counted…
“In my career I’ve never been spoken to like that and I’ve never heard another player speak to a manager like that.”
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