He led Sheffield United and Cardiff City to promotion, but once earned his money treating feet | OneFootball

Neil Warnock will go down as one of the Championship's greatest managers...but his career could have gone down a completely different route

There arguably isn't a more recognisable football manager in EFL history than Neil Warnock.

The 77-year-old holds the record for the most promotions as a manager within English football, with eight, and has managed a record 1,626 games in the EFL, too.

Incredibly, his success ranges across multiple different generations and has seen him lift trophies at different levels, too, whether that be winning the Conference with Scarborough in 1987, the old third division play-offs with Plymouth Argyle in 1996, or the Championship with Sheffield United, QPR and, most recently, Cardiff City.

However, his beginnings in management came in the semi-professional game with Gainsborough Trinity, Burton Albion and then Scarborough, whom he got promoted with in that 1986/87 campaign.

He worked part-time alongside that, and his career could have gone down the chiropody route.

Neil Warnock ran his own chiropody surgery during his early management days

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Indeed, before his near-40-year career in professional football management, Warnock was a qualified chiropodist. After qualifying, he ran his own surgery for eight years alongside his time playing and then managing.

In 1987, though, after securing promotion to the football league with Scarborough, he met a crossroads: if he was going to continue with management, he'd have to quit his other profession and go full-time in the dugout.

In the end, he made the right decision, but that hasn't stopped him from still operating on some of his players.

According to an interview he did with The Guardian in 2013 following the release of his book, Warnock opened up about his time as a chiropodist and stated that he still did "bits and bobs" while in management. His "speciality" was ingrown toenails.

Neil Warnock's ex-players have spoken about how he dealt with their toenails

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It's not just Warnock himself who toots his own horn regarding his ability to treat his players' issues regarding feet; those who played under him have recounted times when the legendary manager would take care of them.

Firstly, ex-Crystal Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose recounted to talkSPORT that he was Warnock's favourite player during their time together at Selhurst Park and that the 77-year-old "would not let anyone else trim [his] toenails; he would do it."

Furthermore, Alan Wright, who played under Warnock at Sheffield United in the early 2000s, spoke on the 'I Had Trials Once' podcast about the time the Blades boss followed him into the physio's room to take his toenail off.

"One of the first games I played, my big toenail was falling off," he said. "At half time, I told him, 'I'm just going to go in there; I need the physio to look at my toenail,' and he said, 'I'll come in and take it off for you in a minute.

"I heard a few things that he can say some weird stuff; I didn't really know him. But I've gone into the physio room, and he's more or less walked in right behind me. He said he was a qualified podiatrist and, sure enough, he took my toenail off."

Neil Warnock's career could have been very different if he took up chiropody full-time instead of management

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Warnock will likely go down in history as one of the all-time greats in football management. A figure so iconic, he even garnered the respect of Pep Guardiola, one of the greatest of all time.

However, things could have been much different if he had gone down a different career path back in 1987.

Warnock was blessed with being very talented in two completely different professions, and there'd have been few doubts that he'd be as good at chiropody as he was at football management.

Albeit the fanfare surrounding the former wouldn't have led to him being as big a character in chiropody circles as he is, having chosen management.

Many football fans benefitted from Neil Warnock in charge at their club

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As mentioned, Warnock has managed the most games in English football and has overseen a record eight promotions, too. Clearly, he's been involved in a lot of different clubs and has provided good memories to almost all their fanbases.

The Yorkshireman was famed mostly for his time at Sheffield United, where he managed the longest and took them back into the Premier League in 2006, ending a 12-year top-flight exodus.

He brought Premier League football back to QPR in 2011, ending 15 years outside the top flight, which also saw time in the third tier, and while his success at Cardiff didn't exactly bring an end to years of hurt, their promotion in 2018 came at a time when it looked like the Welsh side would be languishing back in the second tier.

And that's just his Championship success. You go around the country in both non-league and professional circuits, and Warnock has a good reputation almost everywhere he goes.

But things could have been oh so different if he had decided to pursue chiropody instead.