West Ham legend Julian Dicks reveals he was pelted with a BRICK at Millwall away – only for ref to crack a joke about it

WEST HAM legend Julian Dicks has recalled the moment he was pelted with a BRICK at Millwall — only for the ref to crack a joke about it. Ahead of tomorrow’s Dockers Derby at the Den, the former tough-guy defender known as The Terminator has lifted the lid on the terrifying environment he faced as a 19-year-old back in 1988. Hammers legend Julian Dicks has recalled the moment he was pelted with a BRICK at Millwall Credit: Rex Dicks has warned the current West Ham stars about the importance of beating Millwall Credit: Getty He arrived at Upton Park from Birmingham but nothing had prepared him for the Bermondsey bear pit. And Dicks told SunSport: “I was waiting for a corner to come over at Millwall and back then the full-backs had to be on the posts. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! “Suddenly half a house brick hit me on the elbow so after defending the cross I pointed to it on the floor to the ref. “He just said to me, ‘Good job it wasn’t a whole one.’ And that was it!” That brutal introduction to the fixture set the tone for what remains one of English football’s most volatile rivalries. Despite the hail of missiles from the terraces, John Lyall’s side managed to scrap their way to a famous 1-0 win thanks to a strike from Paul Ince. But the drama was far from over when the final whistle blew. Dicks added: “I remember going to clap our fans at the far end, and as we’re walking back there must have been about 25 police officers come on the pitch with batons and shields. Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS “We’re thinking, ‘Why?’ And all of a sudden, you know why, because you got pounded with coins and bricks and everything else. “You saw a lot of violence on the terraces. Every game more or less, there was fighting.” Even returning decades later he visited the New Den as an assistant coach to Slaven Bilic with West Brom there was no respite from the Lions hostility. He recalled: “I’ve got off the coach and this woman shouted, ‘Hello Julian!’ in a really nice, lovely, friendly voice. “I turned around and she went: ‘You’re a fing w*r!’ “I burst out laughing because you know what it’s all about. It was just a part of trying to put you off your game. “With me, obviously they didn’t succeed, but with some players, it scared them, playing at the Old Den.” Modern Premier League stars rely on strict nutritionists, ice baths, and endless sports science warm-ups. Yet during his playing days, Dicks prepared for derby wars in a very different, old-school fashion. He said: “Nowadays players are staying in an hotel overnight for away games — but back then we didn’t. We just turned up at the ground and we’d go on the coach. “My routine was to listen to what the manager had to say, then I’d run a hot bath and have a Mars bar and a couple of cans of coke. Every Minute Matters JULIAN DICKS teamed up with Premier League legends Roy Keane, Paul Ince, Neil Ruddock and Ian Dowie in the hardest five-a-side team ever known to help tackle defibrillator fears among fans. New research from Sky Bet and British Heart Foundation uncovers significant barriers to using the lifesaving devices – with more than two-thirds of football fans saying fear could stop them from using a defibrillator in the event of a cardiac arrest. The initiative is part of the transformative Every Minute Matters campaign, where Sky Bet-funded defibrillators are improving the chances of survival for around 460,000 people in the UK should they have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. You can learn in 15 minutes how to save someone’s life in the event of a cardiac arrest by using the BHF’s free-to-use RevivR tool. Julian Dicks has teamed up with Premier League legends for Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation “And that was me done. I didn’t do any warm-up. I’d just go out about 10 minutes before kick-off with everybody else, and that was it. That’s what I did throughout my career.” Authorities have moved derbies to early 12:30pm kick-offs in a bid to curb fan trouble outside the stadium. However, Dicks scoffs at the idea that early starts stop supporters from drinking ahead of the match. He insisted: “It doesn’t make any difference in my opinion, because you can go to Tesco or whatever and get your cans of beer. “Back when I played, every game was a 3pm apart from West Ham-Millwall, which they brought in early. “So it’s a bit of an eye-opener really, kicking off at 12, because you’re three hours in front of what you normally do.” Dicks used to lock horns with Millwall’s legendary midfield enforcer Terry Hurlock. The ex-Lion epitomised The Den spirit. He said: “Terry was obviously very tough as a player, but he was better than what people give him credit for. I thought he was a good player. “You knew he was a typical Millwall player — give 100%, run through brick walls for the fans, for the club, for his team-mates. “He could mix it with the best of them, so I’m sure there was a few midfield players that didn’t like coming up against him.” Ahead of the latest battle between the rivals, Dicks has laid down the law to the current West Ham squad on what it takes to survive in Bermondsey. He insisted that while most modern derbies may feel more sanitised in comparison to his playing career, players must match the passion of the fans in the stands. Dicks said: “I didn’t really know what Millwall-West Ham was all about until the supporters told me. They told me within the first week I was at West Ham. “If there’s two games that you want to win, it’s against Tottenham and Millwall. Hopefully that gets over to the players because they are big games. “I play for the supporters and I can put my hand on my heart and say that every game I give 100 per cent. “I let the club down and the supporters down by getting sent off and things like that, but when I played I gave 100 per cent. And that’s all the supporters want from their players. “We all have bad games, we all make mistakes, but there’s no excuse not to give your maximum. ”For West Ham to get a result against Millwall, every player is going to have to give 100 per cent because Millwall definitely will.” Comment now