Alan Pardew’s the most successful homegrown boss – but just look at Kevin Bond’s record

ENGLISH managers have taken a bit of a kicking this term from foreign coaches who have dominated our game.

Alan Pardew was the most successful of our homegrown coaches, despite losing in the FA Cup final and only finishing 15th in the Premier League with Crystal Palace.

But one man has been flying the flag — albeit abroad.

Kevin Bond, formerly Harry Redknapp’s No 2 at Southampton and Spurs, is celebrating a cup double after becoming emergency boss at Hong Kong Prem side Pegasus.

After just eight weeks at the helm, he is toasting triumphs in the Sapling Cup and HK FA Cup.

He told me: “There were only 8,000 fans at the finals but I now have two cup winners’ medals in my office at home and I’m very proud.”

Big Macs and lies

RORY McILROY has given Northern Ireland a surprise weapon in the Euro mind games.

The world No 3 golfer and ardent Green Army fan addressed the players on Monday at Carton House, near The K Club where he won last weekend’s Irish Open.

He revealed how his dad used a clever trick to boost his confidence on his home course of Holywood as a kid.

McIlroy, 27, told how the old man would fib that the par three he was staring at was a par five, so that when he took four he believed he was one under.

The little white lie made McIlroy think he was better than he was and it’s certainly done him no harm.

The players lapped it up and so did Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill, who plans to copy the ploy.

O’Neill joked: “If we are 3-0 down at half time to Germany, I’ll tell the lads we are 2-0 up.”

Eagles ruffled feathers before 1990 final

CRYSTAL PALACE stars were getting their kit off before the 1990 FA Cup final.

This shocker has emerged just days after the Eagles were beaten again by Manchester United in the big game.

Former Palace kit man Spike Hill says: “It was 26 years ago so I can say this now.

“We had an agent Eric ‘Monster Monster’ Hall. He had signed a deal with Hi-Tec and all the players and staff had to wear their boots.

“But players have their superstitions so we had to manipulate an awful lot of boots to make them appear as Hi-Tec boots.

“We were working until the early hours the night before the final to make sure it looked as though all the players were wearing them!”

Wombles are tube strikers

UNDERGROUND, overground, Wombles from Zone Three.

Reaching the League Two play-off final has not gone to AFC Wimbledon heads.

The entire squad is heading up to run the rule over Wembley Stadium today ahead of Monday’s showdown with Plymouth.

But the lot of them are going by Tube rather than opting for a posh coach just to sit for hours on end stuck in traffic on the gridlocked A406 North Circular. Brings a whole new meaning to football training, doesn’t it?

Theo and Rickie are unlucky loosers

PICTURED on the walls of the loos at England’s St George’s Park training base are Theo Walcott and Rickie Lambert.

Gentlemen partaking of the throne room in said toilet can take heart that they are more regular than either of those two.