Former West Ham star James Collins ripped up his own Aston Villa contract just a few minutes into his first training session.
But he told Peter Crouch and co. in an episode of the That Peter Crouch Podcast that it wasn’t without justifiable reason.
In a career that took him from Cardiff to West Ham, Aston Villa and back to West Ham, Collins made more than 300 appearances in the Football League and Premier League, in addition to representing Wales 51 times.
After his second spell at West Ham ended in the summer of 2018, he was looking for a new club. At 35, he began training at Villa again, with the prospect of a second stint in the Midlands on the cards.
Steve Bruce was manager at the time but was sacked a few days later.
“Dean Smith got the Villa job, and John Terry was his assistant coach," he explained. "They said, 'Come up and train, and we’ll have a look at you.
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“So I felt good, I did a bit of training, and they offered me a contract. It was something like a two-month or three-month contract.
"This is how mad it is as a footballer; I had to sign it on Thursday to be on the bench for Saturday."
Signing the contract in the morning, Collins joined the training session where his soon-to-be teammates had began warming up and sprinting.
“I thought I’d just go straight into the sprints. I did a sprint and popped my calf.
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“I’ve just signed this contract for Aston Villa, so I went over to Dean Smith and JT and said, 'Boys, I’ve just popped my calf.'
"I’d done my calf before and I knew it was quite bad. I said I’d run inside quickly and rip the contract up.
“I knew I’d only signed for like three months; I loved my time at Villa and they were really good to me. I thought I couldn’t sign a short contract and be injured for two.”
“I was technically a Villa player. I told Dean Smith I can’t do that to you. I could be out for two months.
"I ran back to Sharon, the secretary, and I asked her, 'Have you sent that contract off?' She said no. I said 'we’re going to have to rip it up; I’ve pulled my calf.'"
Former Tottenham and Liverpool striker Crouch was impressed. “Wow, fair play to you, mate. Quite a lot of people would have just sat there for four months.”
Collins continued: “I could have sat there; I knew my calves. It could have been a two or three month injury. So I went back, got fit from that, and ended up at Ipswich.”
He was released at the end of the 2018/19 season after making just six appearances for the club and retired from playing in 2020, 20 years after starting his career in Cardiff.
Having started his career in 2000, he joined West Ham five years later and played in the 2006 FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool before leaving for Villa in 2009.
Another runners-up medal followed, this time in the League Cup to Man United.
A return to east London came in 2012 when the Hammers were promoted back to the Premier League and lasted until 2018 when he was informed he would be released by Manuel Pellegrini.
He played six times for Ipswich before hanging up his boots.
