Tony Pulis isn’t joking when he says he’s getting a little too old for this kind of thing.
Not the cut and thrust of football management - he might never lay his baseball cap to rest on the touchline - no it’s the sheer mental and physical agony of another Donna Louise charity challenge that’s worrying him.
The children’s hospice has, with the best of intentions, previously tried to finish him off up a mountain, on a bike ride and while rowing across the English Channel.
Now for his ultimate challenge, Tower to Tower 2018 in just a few days, when he, Rory Delap and plenty more masochists will be biking, rowing and walking their way through some 560 kilometres from Paris to London over four gruelling days.
Some going for a man who became a sexagenarian in January.
“Obviously I’m delighted to help out for such a wonderful cause,” he says, “but seriously, I am getting too old for this kind of thing.
“It’s very difficult to say no to them, but this one is an unbelievable challenge for an old man like me.
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“It’s got to be the toughest yet. I think it’s the lack of sleep which will be the hardest part and that will make it so tough mentally.”
Pulis, Rory and Co begin on their bikes at 4am (UK time) in Paris on Monday for an estimated 18-hour, 270km ride to the port of Le Havre.
Then they will jump into a small wooden rowing boat for a two hours on, two hours off relay across the Channel over the next 40 hours or so.
And after arriving in Brighton, then comes the final leg, the little matter of a 100 kilometre walk to London’s Tower Brige over an estimated 28 hours.
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“They’ve tried to kill me on these challenges before and I’ve always survived,” says Pulis, “but I really do think they will succeed this time.
“The toughest part will probably be the walk because of the effort that will have gone into the cycling and the rowing beforehand.
“It’s all right for people like Rory, he’s about 30 years younger than me.”
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Delap himself was a renowned athlete during his playing days, not least over seven years at Stoke City, and the 41 year-old Derby County youth coach is certainly sounding less nervous than his old manager.
But if his old gaffer wobbles a bit towards the end, don’t bank on Delap catching him.
“I’m not sure I’d be that close to him to catch him,” he warns, “because when he gets in one of his bad moods you steer well clear.
“But knowing the gaffer, and what a stubborn so-and-so he is, he’ll do it.”
And what about his `junior partner’ on the challenge, how’s he shaping up?
“I’m both nervous and excited,” he enthuses. “I’m in no doubt it’s going to be tough, but I really am looking forward to it and just want to get started now.
“It’s a bit like a player coming into a new season, you just want to get into that first game after all the hard work in pre-season.”
So how has the training been going?
“Since I packed up playing, I’ve been regularly biking and often go out with a few of the lads on a couple of routes we know.
“The rowing has been the tough one though. I’ve only done one proper training session on the sea because the other two were cancelled through the weather.
“I’ve done a lot of indoor rowing, but motivation for that really is hard, so overall I haven’t been able to do as much training on the rowing as I’d have liked and so that is the leg of the challenge that a step into the unknown and is a bit of a worry.
“As for the walking, well I walk the dog, so hopefully that will have helped.
“I think the walking will be a mental grind as much as anything, but at least the hands will be able to rest after all that rowing.”
Delap, a regular fund-raiser with wife Helen for Donna Louise, has become a familiar face to staff, patients and families over the years at its Trentham HQ.
“Yes, I’ve got close to a couple of families and got to see what they go through daily, weekly, in their lives.
“It was great hearing the stories of different families when we did the press launch for Tower to Tower and if you ever need a bit of motivation, you just have to listen to those stories.”
All of which will no doubt inspire him to eventually complete the toughest test of his life - with or without the capped cumudgeon in his arms at the finishing line.
* The Tower to Tower 2018 challenge hopes to raise £150,000 towards the estimated £3.5m needed every year to run the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice for nearly 250 children and young adults.
To donate, go on-line to www.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/towertotower2018