Neil Warnock's incredible methods for manipulating referees revealed as ex rival lifts lid on Aberdeen manager's secrets

Ian Holloway has revealed Neil Warnock’s secrets for getting away with murder with referees.

Holloway in his biography: ‘How to be a football manager’ admitted he called up Warnock for advice because he kept getting into trouble with referees and the authorities. The current interim Aberdeen manager, who is a trained referee, then gave him the inside track on how he would wine and dine them to gain that extra edge on the park. Holloway explained: “I said,’Ok, what’s your secret?’ 'Right - you need to hear this. My secret is this: butter them up before the game'.

“I told him that I didn’t understand what he meant, so he took me to the referee’s dressing room and asked me to have a look. In there were robes, dressing gowns and slippers, when they come out of the shower plus really great food and wine. 'Normally, they don’t take the wine, but they can with our compliments. So, I do all these things behind the scenes and they know when they come to my ground, they’re treated with total and utter respect before the game and after and they let me away with murder because of that, I believe.

“He said 'You’ve’ got to get a little cleverer, son and when you have done this as long as I have, imagine how many of them I have upset with my antics on the line and how many I have been in front of them all, so I have had to learn the hard way. They’re only human beings and the truth is, I know how hard it is to referee, because I have done it and you haven’t.”

Warnock has already gone on the charm offensive in his short-time in Scotland. Speaking after the recent draw with Hibs, Warnock said: "The four referees I have had so far have been far better than England, but if he’d (David Munro) have booked someone in the first three minutes