'I tried to do all this 30 years ago but nobody would listen to me – nobody.'
Tony Brien is reflecting. Reflecting on the time he plucked up the courage as an 18-year-old to tell Aston Villa's then-assistant manager Dave Richardson that one of the club's scouts, a man called Ted Langford, had repeatedly abused him. Reflecting on the heartbreaking result of his brave actions.
'I later got a phone call from Richardson,' Brien, now 47, adds. 'He said "Could you really be dealing with all the obscenities from the terraces?". I'll never forget what he said next: "I suggest we sweep this under the carpet, son".