Byline: SIMON JONES
IT IS just above freezing, the air is sharp, the ice is crisp and Les Parry is wearing a T-shirt and shorts. They wouldn't expect anything else in these parts.
Tranmere Rovers' physioturned-manager is, after all, the man whose famed milk-bottle limbs inspired the charity single 'I'm Les The White Legs Parry' -- a Christmas ditty to the tune of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' that made fun of Parry's penchant for wearing very little in all weathers.
It was just pipped to No 1 by Leona Lewis (below) -- well, that's the line Parry tells.
Parry enjoys a joke, even at his own expense, but, after stepping into the shoes of former England international John Barnes, he has proved he is no court jester.
His is a character forged from the shipyard of nearby Cammell Laird where he served his time as a shipwright -- gravitating to Apprentice of the Year no less -- and where nobody suffered fools. He also hopes to gain his PhD in physiotherapy from Liverpool University next month when he will become 'Dr Les'.
There is a chink in his armour today though amid the chilly corridors of Prenton Park as he plots Wolves' FA Cup downfall in tomorrow's third-round tie.
'Better put some socks on, it's a bit colder today,' he says as he flits between his physiotherapy work and re-organising his new office space with coaches Wayne Allison and Shaun Garnett.
Parry has yet to find Replica Rolex Ladies Watches a full-time replacement for his old job and is treating one of Tranmere's youngsters who has an ankle injury.
'What's the problem, Les?' 'Haven't a clue,' deadpans Parry. 'I normally give them a Latin tropical fish phrase so they think I know what I'm talking about. This one could be Deadicus Findus. He'll look it up when he gets home and find it means he has no fish fingers in his freezer!' The humour flows easily for someone who has played good cop to seven different managers (John King, John Aldridge, Dave Watson, Ray Matthias, Brian Little, Ronnie Moore and Barnes) during nearly 20 years at the League One club.
A period that has seen more twists and turns than an East-Enders script and Parry has been privy to all sides.
'I've always been serious about my job and more importantly the club but I find it helps to have a smile on your face,' he says. 'As a physio you are often associated with the downside of a footballer's life. They hate being injured and you have to find ways of lightening the gloom.
'I used to do all kinds of things. Once I was taking Danny Coyne, now at Middlesbrough, Panerai Replica Watch and Graham Branch on a cross country run. I told them to cut across this field where I knew there was a bull. I thought it would give them a bit of a fright to see it. But it took one look at the pair of them and thought, "I fancy a bit of this, I'll chase the fat one".
'So it sped off after Danny and came within inches of catching him. I thought it was going to kill him. I've never seen him move so fast but he just made it over the fence in time. That was one joke that nearly backfired, but it was funny afterwards!' As a physio, however, Parry, 49, saw how easily players could turn on a manager behind their back -- particularly those who have not served time as a player.
'I know what players are like, they can be bitchy. I've been here since 1991 and I've been involved in the preparation and the dissection of around 8
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