GERRY: He won’t. Be reasonable.

TED: Why shouldn’t he? He’s held me up to ridicule. I’m the President, Gerry, He can apologise or resign.

GERRY: (irritated) Be reasonable, Ted. It’s going to be nasty enough at the end of the year when we don’t renew his contract. He hasn’t exactly been a failure here. We’ve only been out of the finals once in eight years and we’ve been runner up twice.

TED: What’s the good of being runner up? We want the premiership.

GERRY: And we’ll get it, but don’t make things difficult right now. Let’s just issue a press statement to the effect that you’ve patched things up.

TED: That’s not good enough. He’s got to apologise.

GERRY: (irritated) Well he won’t, so let’s just be sensible.

The right door opens and JOCK RILEY enters. He’s a large big boned man in his late sixties, shrewd and tough, with a battered yet expressive face.

JOCK: Sorry I’m late. (Indicating the bottle) Ah. Scotch.

GERRY: Get yourself a glass.

JOCK retreats through the right door.

JOCK: (off) Thrashed it out yet?

GERRY: Almost.

JOCK: (off) Bad business. (Re-entering) Where’s Laurie?

He pours himself a stiff drink.

GERRY: Outside.

TED: Danny’s there too.

JOCK: Danny? What’s he doing here?

TED: He just popped in to tell us that if we sack Laurie the players’ll go on strike.

JOCK: (amazed) Strike? When?

TED: Tomorrow. They’ve threatened to refuse to take the field.

GERRY: Come on, Ted. They’re not serious.

TED: I thought they were.

JOCK: Strike? I’ll give the bastards strike!

GERRY: It’s not a serious threat. Don’t bring it up again.

JOCK: Strike, eh?

JOCK moves across to the right door and opens it.

Danny!

DANNY enters, followed by LAURIE.

DANNY: What?

JOCK: What’s this bloody business about a strike? Did you threaten this Club with a strike?

DANNY: I told—(Gerry that if)

JOCK: I’ve never heard anything like it in my life. Who’s involved? Give me their names. You’re not indispensable, Rowe. No one’s going to hold this Club to ransom. I’ll suspend the lot of you. Who else is involved?

DANNY: The whole team. Except Geoff Hayward. It’ll give him a chance to show what a real champion he is.

JOCK: This is a disgusting and despicable threat, Danny. I never thought I’d live to see the day. I played two hundred and eighty-two games for this Club and every time I ran onto the ground I felt as honoured to be out there wearing the Club colours as I did the first time.

GERRY: Calm down. We’re just on the point of getting this all resolved, Jock.

TED: The Club won’t tolerate threats, Rowe.