I should have given Paolo Di Canio a telling off at West Ham training for disrespecting Glenn Roeder, but his apology surprised me

Retired footballers often look back on their careers regretting missed opportunities and mistakes.

But not ex-West Ham star Don Hutchison, who has said one of his biggest regrets is “not giving a goal” to Paolo Di Canio.

Hutchison He enjoyed two spells at Upton Park, first from 1994 to 1996 before returning in 2001, where he stayed for four years.

During his time in east London, the 53-year-old played alongside several world champions including Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and From Canio.

And the 26-cap Scotland international has said no-one has ever bothered him like Di Canio once did in training.

The pair spent two seasons together before Di Canio left for Charlton in 2003 following West Ham's relegation to the Championship.

While he stressed that the Italian maverick was a “brilliant lad” and someone he got on well with, Hutchison insisted he should have been punished once for disrespecting his former boss Glenn Roeder.

Hutchison explained how Roeder tried to get the West Ham squad, who were packed with “huge egos”, to socialise more together.

This led him to install televisions at the club's training ground at Chadwell Heath, while also switching off phones and expecting players to interact more with each other after their sessions, rather than going home straight after.

His decision to switch off mobile phones did not go down well with Di Canio, who proceeded to disrupt training the following day by parking in Roeder's parking spot, where he also directed a sexually charged message to the late former Newcastle manager.

Di Canio apologised for his actions the following day in classic style, and all was quickly forgiven.

Remembering the West Ham incident YouTube ChannelHutchison said: “(Roeder) wanted the guys to stay, chat, connect a little bit, they had the TV on, they were chatting, the food was good.

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“And Paolo, I got along very well with Paolo, Paolo was a brilliant boy, but he was so unstable that it wasn't true.

“Glenn (insisted that) no cell phones are allowed downstairs, phones are turned off in the locker room and left behind.

“So the next day, Paolo walks in, I promise you, he had a pair of Dolce & Gabanna sunglasses on, one said 'Shit' on that side (left eye), one said 'Get off' on that side (right eye).

“He pulled up on his Vespa, parked in Glenn's spot and got in with his phone.

“He broke every rule that had been set and ruined the morning, and one of my biggest regrets for Glenn was not beating Paolo at Chadwell Heath on one particular day.

“Because Glenn set up a session, a high throw near the houses, the midfield players receive it, throw it to the wingers, Trevor Sinclair crosses it, the forwards get into the box and finish it, a pretty basic skill.

“Paolo, 'I'm not going to play number 9 today, I want to be a midfielder', so Glenn said: 'Okay, Paolo, play there'.

“It got out of his feet, he threw it 20 yards too hard into the outfield, he lost the ball. I did the session again, he lost the ball, I ruined the session.

“Then Glenn said, 'If you're not going to do the session, go in yourself.' Paolo walked in. I should have given him a telling off, but in retrospect it would have been the right thing to do.

“And then he left, you heard his Vespa screeching in the parking lot, he came back the next day, 'Ayyyy, I baked you a tiramisu cake.'

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“Paolo baked a tiramisu cake, put it there (on the table) and said, 'I'm so sorry about yesterday,' he's just as happy as Larry.

“It was just up, down, up, down, that's how relaxed the locker room was. I have no idea what she put on the cake, but it was decent!”

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