We’d had a hard week’s training morning and afternoon then a long journey up there on the Friday

“We’d had a hard week’s training, morning and afternoon, then a long journey up there on the Friday. We found a park with a river running through it and went for a walk. One of the players offered another a tenner to swim the river He said no Someone said £20 He again said no. I said: “I’ll do it for £40.” They laughed, but £40 is a lot of money, you’d have to earn £70 before tax I said I’d do it after training. They all ridiculed me saying I was chickening out.”After training the sun was going down and it was cold.

I stripped down, ran along the river bank, over a bridge and back until I was facing the players in trainers and shorts. On the bridge were a dozen school kids looking at me thinking ‘what the hell is he doing?’”The river was only 15 yards wide but it looked the length of an Olympic swimming pool. That first step, going down into the marshy mud by the bank, I thought: ‘Oh my God.’ My foot went down into the mud to my calves. On the other side there were holes in the banks where the mice and rats were probably hanging around. I swam across there quicker than Mark Spitz, pulled myself out and with the players cheering and laughing ran the half-mile back to the hotel. In reception, covered in mud and river water, I had to walk through a busload of Americans checking in.”When I collected my money I said to the team: ‘If you say you are going to do something, you go on and do it It is no good just talking about it.

We won the next day, it was the first time Hartlepool had lost at home that season.’”Brentford, one from bottom with one win from 19 games when Allen arrived, also won at Barnsley a month later. Before the game Allen had the squad and staff, all 22, lying on mats in a dark dressing room meditating for five minutes. “I had them doing breathing exercises and visualising the game they were going to play: being calm, cool, confident and decisive.”At Sheffield Wednesday, where they drew in front of 20,000, Allen led the squad in a pre-match sing-along to Kylie, Dexy’s Midnight Runners and the Bay City Rollers “What it does is take away the tension,” he said. “It shows I’m not nervous, that it doesn’t frighten me going to these big clubs You can’t play football if you are stressed out. You have to be calm and comfortable.”If you are sitting there punching the walls before you play you’ll run around madly for 15 minutes, but after that you’ll be exhausted because your energy levels will be spent.” There is method in the madness, though Allen adds: “My elder son George, who’s an intelligent lad, said to me: ‘Some of the things you do are genius, some are madness. Win and you’re a genius, lose…’”As far as Brentford fans are concerned, there is more genius than madness.