Wednesday 6 December 2017 15:22, UK
Liverpool and Manchester City fans hated Phil Neville on derby day.
He even admits himself.
This is a man that ran the gauntlet in both Merseyside and Manchester derbies, including one incident when two Liverpool fans were handed football bans for punching and spitting at him as he went to take a throw-in.
Ahead of derby day on Super Sunday, when it comes to describing the emotion, similarities and differences of both rivalries - there was only one man we needed to speak to.
"They hated me because I played for Manchester United, was Everton captain and my brother was Gary Neville," he admits.
There was only one place to start - what was his recollection of that unsavoury incident at Anfield in 2008?
"I went to take a throw in and a little bit of spit came over my head and a jab in my back," he said.
"It was more like a handshake really - there was nothing malicious. At Anfied the supporters are so close. There's a great picture where there's a guy ready to punch me in the back of my head and the odd bit of spit flying my way. It was part and parcel of the game. You gave as much back to them.
"It used to help fuel me for the game as I knew it was going to be one of those atmospheres you'd want to play in and enjoy playing in.
"If you can handle that atmosphere at Anfield you can handle most things that get thrown in your way."
Neville played, in total, 22 derbies during his spells with United and Everton.
In fact, Neville made his full debut in a Manchester derby. A game United won 3-0 at Maine Road with goals from Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Andy Cole.
Neville still regards that day as "the best of his life".
He went on to feature in eight more Manchester derbies during a 263-game career for United, where he filled up his trophy cabinet with six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and a Champions League success.
As those major titles suggest, his record in derby matches was strong, winning six until their neighbours started to become a lot noisier after the turn of the Millennium. A 3-1 defeat at Maine Road in 2002 was followed by a 4-1 thumping two years later. Although Neville admitted that "Manchester City wasn't our biggest game of the season", a defeat against them hurt like no other.
"In the early years whenever we played them we felt we was going to win the game and win it well," he said.
"Then towards the end of my time, City became a real threat. There's no worse feeling in football than losing to City."
That gut-wrenching feeling returned a few years down the line when he followed David Moyes to Manchester United to be his first-team coach. During that season United lost both derby matches convincingly with an aggregate of 7-1 as City romped to the Premier League title.
There was, of course, a time where Neville was Moyes' man on the pitch, too.
Neville played in 13 Merseyside derbies in the Premier League, most as Everton captain. Despite his aforementioned run-ins with the opposition supporters, Neville felt there were clear differences in the two derby atmospheres.
"In the Merseyside derby there is rivalry but not hatred. In the Manchester derby there is rivalry and hatred," he said.
"There are families in Merseyside that are split down the middle, half blue and half red. They go to the game together, separate for 90 minutes and meet up after.
"It's a fantastic derby - one of the best in the world.
"I never felt going into a Merseyside derby that there was a tension in the air but in the Manchester one there was hatred. You can smell it in the air. There was times when you wouldn't want your family to go to the game, where the Merseyside derby was friendlier.
"There was tension but there was a healthier respect."
Respect there may have been, but it was usually the red side of Merseyside that came out triumphant, especially at Anfield.
Everton are hoping to end an 18-year winless streak at the home of their Merseyside rivals on Sunday, an unhappy record which dates all the way back to the 1999/00 campaign.
Neville, who only won two of his 13 appearances against Liverpool for Everton in the league, admits there was a fear factor among the squad when facing their great rivals, something former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher has said he sensed as an opposition player.
"They need to get that monkey off their back," Neville said.
"There is a psychological problem with Everton at Anfield - Liverpool have definitely got one over on Everton.
"They need to go there and be brave - when I was captain we used to go there a little bit fearful of what we were going to do due to the results of previous meetings. This team this year must go there with no fear and go to win."
The same could be said for United.
City currently lie eight points ahead of second-placed United in the Premier League table ahead of their first meeting of the season at Old Trafford.
When asked if United have the attributes to break City's majestic rhythm this season, Neville said: "Some team has to.
"If United don't then City can go through the season unbeaten - they are that good. One team has to stand up to them - they have to go toe to toe and break the rhythm and concentration - if one manager can do that then Jose Mourinho is one."
Tension, passion, rivalry and plenty of hatred - as Neville says himself, it's a Super Sunday not to be missed.
Watch the Merseyside derby and the Manchester derby live on Super Sunday from 1pm on Sky Sports Premier League. Or watch both for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV
