He was a Newcastle United legend and helped bring home the Fairs Cup in 1969.

But Bryan ‘Pop’ Robson revealed how he perfected his nibble footwork and brilliant balance and puts it down to his ballroom dancing in-laws.

Pop was at the Fairs Club 50th anniversary dinner when he told ChronicleLive about his unusual training regime.

And he choked back tears as he reminisced about the good old days when his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Lenny and Molly Heppell, would teach him their dance moves to make him a better player.

Fairs cup and ex toon legends at the 50th anniversary dinner, Bryan Pop Robson
Fairs cup and ex toon legends at the 50th anniversary dinner, Bryan Pop Robson

And in particular he thanked Lenny, who died 10 years ago at the age of 90, for being a fantastic influence on his career.

It was during the summer of 1968 that Pop was playing lots of golf when the football season had ended. But it was Lenny who said he had to ditch his clubs to take up dancing to improve his pitch performance.

He was dance training for hours each day with Lenny as he put his best foot forward and he was also playing ping pong with his international table tennis player wife Maureen to make him more agile.

“I was playing in the Newcastle team and was playing 21 games and scoring nine goals, I was playing a lot of golf, playing every day in the summer period, morning and afternoon,” said Pop, 73, of Hexham .

“And my father-in-law said ‘you’d better start concentrating on your football’. I said ‘what do you mean?’ and he said ‘well, you have to move quick and you need to be in better balance.’

Newcastle United 2- 1 Real Zaragoza, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 3rd round 2nd leg held at St James' Park, Newcastle. Manger Joe Harvey celebrates pictured with Pop Robson. 15th January 1969.
Newcastle United 2- 1 Real Zaragoza, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 3rd round 2nd leg held at St James' Park, Newcastle. Manger Joe Harvey celebrates pictured with Pop Robson. 15th January 1969.

“Lenny and Molly were professional ballroom dancers and they had the nightclub, the Fandango in Hexham, and he said ‘put your golf clubs away and all the summer we’ll do training.

“Maureen was a table tennis player, she was number one in England at junior level and number three at senior, so we played table tennis a lot. But he (Lenny) would get me to move quicker on the balls of my feet, not on the toes, not on the heels, but on the balls of my feet, so I could move quick - a yard or two, which would give me an edge in front of big defenders. We worked morning and afternoon and he was fantastic.

“The next season I started training, I was also doing some running and strength work. And the next season I came back and we qualified for the Fairs Cup. I started the season as a substitute, then I came on and scored and I scored 30 goals that season - 12 games in the Fairs Cup and six goals in the Fairs Cup. So it was a fantastic season, yes, he was fantastic.”

Pop and his old team-mates, who were led by manager Joe Harvey, met up at the The Grand Hotel, Gosforth Park, Newcastle, to reminisce about Newcastle United's Fairs Cup victory when they lifted the trophy following a two-legged final against Ujpest Dosza - which they won 6-2 on aggregate 50 years ago.

From Tark. Newcastle United skipper Bobby Moncur and manager Joe Harvey with the Inter City Fairs Cup in 1969.Colour version of old black and white pics,
From Tark. Newcastle United skipper Bobby Moncur and manager Joe Harvey with the Inter City Fairs Cup in 1969.Colour version of old black and white pics,

The night was organised by the Fairs Club, set up by die-hard Toon fans to remember the club’s glory days, and it was hailed a huge success. 

Other football legends Geoff Allen, David Craig, Dave Elliott, Jim Scott, Tommy Gibb, Ron Guthrie, Wyn Davies, Keith Dyson, and John Craggs where the original Fairs Cup team players and took centre stage.

And other ex NUFC players Mick Mahoney, Pat Howard and Arthur Horsfield made guest appearances.

Pop, whose 18-year-old grandson Joseph Robson is aiming to be a professional golfer, says he was rubbish at dancing but it was the balance techniques that Lenny taught him that made him into the brilliant footballer Toon fans learnt to love.

Emotional Pop added: “Lenny and Molly were professional ballroom dancers and I think European champions, they used to go to Blackpool, and when they moved they were fantastic. It was like liquid watching Lenny move across the floor. I didn’t quite manage the dancing side of it but that was a fantastic period, and he had a fantastic influence on my career.”