Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley doesn't deserve the criticism he's received this season.
That's the claim of Steve Lunn, who spent eight years in the boardroom with the Newcastle owner at SportsDirect.
Lunn wants to defend his former boss - and give his lowdown on soccer's Public Enemy No 1.
He insisted to The Sun: "The Newcastle fans have got Mike Ashley all wrong. They should embrace him, take him to their hearts and then see what they get. They have to understand what sort of guy he is. He is extremely loyal.
"Give him your backing and he'll roll his sleeves up and give you 100 per cent backing. Hurt him, as the Newcastle fans have, and he'll feel insulted that he's not been read properly. And that's been Mike's problem ever since he took over there. Whelan had a go at him, probably basing his vendetta on their business rivalry because there was a ruck between their two companies over price-fixing of replica shirts.
"But when Mike turned up for a meeting with the Office of Fair Trading, he wore a T-shirt and jeans - they thought he was a gardener! It was the same at work. He never arrived in a flash car or waved his money about.
"He wore the exact same clothes, the ones he sold. So the way he has behaved and been perceived at Newcastle only reflects the way he has been all his life. He simply isn't pretentious. And he is a very modest man. We never had pictures taken together and the Sunday Times Rich List used to refer to him as a 'recluse'.
"That same recluse chucked millions into saving Newcastle financially. And now Shearer, who many people thought wouldn't work for Ashley, has agreed to take over the reins. He spoke to Mike and has presumably changed his opinion of him - as the mass of protesting fans should too."
Lunn, a Southend-based businessman, added: "Mike would have been deeply hurt by the fans' reaction to him.
"In our boardroom he enjoyed absolute loyalty because of the employer he was. I remember working in a new outlet from Monday through to Thursday, sleeping on desks and no one grumbled. He was ready to do the same.
"Perhaps Mike should have employed someone to improve his public relations. But that's not the way he is and no one should blame him for that."
