Keith Gillespie on how Alex Ferguson got him a massive pay rise as part of Andy Cole transfer

It’s 30 years since Manchester United completed their shock signing of striker Andy Cole from Newcastle United - so for former Northern Ireland winger Keith Gillespie, it’s the 30th anniversary of his big pay-day.

He revealed how then-United manager Alex Ferguson earned him a massive pay rise during negotiations with his Newcastle counterpart Kevin Keegan.

The two managers hammered out the terms of the cash-plus-player switch in late-night talks in a Sheffield hotel, just hours after the Red Devils had just beaten Sheffield United 2-0 at Bramall Lane.

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“There were no mobile phones,” Gillespie told the UTD Podcast on the anniversary of the transfer that rocked the Premier League.

“He said, we’ll ring your mum and explain the situation. We got to the hotel, got on the hotel phone, it was about midnight, we rang home, mum answered and I explained the situation.

“Then the manager got on the phone. I didn’t have an agent or anything. He said, is it okay if I do the deal and act as his agent? She was happy enough with that.

“I remember the manager said to me, when we go in here, don’t say a word.

“We were on £230-a-week. That contract we signed was going up to £250-a-week the next year to £270 to £290. Obviously we hoped it would be ripped up in no time, that you’d be on a bigger contract, which happened with a lot of them.

“But again, I was on that £230-a-week and I remember sitting at a big round table. Sir Alex, Keegan, the chairman and chief executive, and I was there with my head down.

“I remember Sir Alex going, he’s on £600-a-week at the minute and we want you to double it to £1,200.

“I sort of looked up when he said £600. There was this look from him as if to say, don’t you say a word here. Newcastle agreed to it straight away.”

Gillespie was happy to play his part in the transfer, having spoken to Keegan already about the Toon Army manager’s plans for the club.

“He sold the club to me in 30 seconds. He’s an incredible character, very enthusiastic and he just explained what his vision was for Newcastle. He had it sold to me,” said Gillespie.

The Northern Ireland star had broken into the United first-team, having graduated from the same underage squad as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville.

However, Andrei Kanchelskis was in flying form at that time, so his opportunities were limited.

“If I’d have said no, the whole deal was off. Andy Cole would never have ended up at Man United,” recalled Gillespie, who spent three years at Newcastle before moving to Blackburn in 1998.

“But there was no pressure on me. Alex Ferguson wasn’t saying, look, you have to go. I just thought it was a chance for me to get regular first-team football at a big club under a big manager.”

Cole, meanwhile, recalled how a falling out with Kevin Keegan sped up his departure from Newcastle, where he had scored 68 goals in 84 appearances.

Andy Cole celebrates a goal against Ipswich Town
(Image: Anton Want/ALLSPORT)

“When we came to the hotel, Kevin told me to ‘do one’,” he said. “And I said, ‘alright, no problem’. I packed my bags and walked out. The relationship was never the same.”

Cole told the UTD Podcast about his first day as a Manchester United player.

“My first training session was at Old Trafford,” he said. “I had no boots, I had nothing.

“I walked into the dressing room to see people like Sparky (Mark Hughes), Eric (Cantona), Pete (Peter Schmeichel), Incey (Paul Ince), Brucey (Steve Bruce) and I was saying to myself, ‘oh my god, two years ago, I watched these guys’.

“That’s how rapid my rise was. I couldn’t comprehend it at that time.”

Cole scored 121 goals during 275 games for United and famously struck up an electrifying partnership with Dwight Yorke during the 1998/99 treble-winning season.

He won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League during his time at Old Trafford, which came to an end in 2001 when he moved to Blackburn.

Andy Cole celebrates with Keith Gillespie and Matt Jansen
(Image: David Cannon /Allsport)

There, he teamed up for a couple of seasons with Gillespie, the man whose decision to leave Old Trafford made Cole’s move there possible.

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