Former Norwich striker Darren Huckerby appeared on Soccer AM yesterday - and spilled the beans on his sometimes stormy relationship with Gordon Strachan.

Strachan, then manager of Coventry City, paid Newcastle �1m for the striker's services in 1996 and it proved to be a shrewd move as Huckerby established himself as one of the brightest young prospects in the country, scoring 34 times in 109 appearances for the Sky Blues.

During his three-year spell at the club, the former Norwich star formed a prolific strike partnership with Dion Dublin, but he also had the pleasure of playing alongside his gaffer at the time. Unfortunately Strachan didn't always see it that way.

And Huckerby revealed that on one occasion the former Leeds United player was so infuriated with his young prot�g� that he stormed off the pitch

'It was against Arsenal and I was clean through and he was there for me to tap it to him, to tap in, but I shot and didn't score and that was it,' Huckerby told Soccer AM.

'He was just like 'Nah I've had enough, I can't play with him' and took himself off.'

That, however, was just the tip of the iceberg according to Huckerby, who admitted one time the pair had to be separated by police after a difference of opinion.

Like all players returning to a former club, the young starlet had a point to prove when Coventry headed up to Newcastle where he had failed to force his way into Kevin Keegan's first team plans.

But when Strachan decided to take him off with almost a third of the game still left, things got physical.

He added: 'One time we got split up by the police going off the pitch at Newcastle. I was strangling him, he was strangling me.

'It was against my old club so obviously I wanted to do well and he took me off about 60 minutes in so on the way back we had a bit of a ding-dong.'

Despite their many confrontations both men continue to have the upmost respect for each other, says Huckerby.

However, he admitted his former gaffer wasn't too pleased with him when he turned down an invitation to join forces again in 2005.

'At the end of the Norwich season when we got relegated he rang me up and said 'I want you to come here, Celtic want you'. I said 'I'm not leaving Norwich'.

'He said 'Champions League football, playing in front of 60,000 people...' but I just said 'no I'm not leaving Norwich' and he didn't speak to me again for about six or seven months.'

You can watch Huckerby on Soccer AM by going to http://www.socceram.com/story/0,21644,13873_7292787,00.html.