159 Wizardly Twain Part 1 (2/2)

What were they doing? Naturally, they were waiting for a person to get off the bus first.

Inside the bus, Tang En said to the players who were watching him, ”All right, guys. When you get off the bus, no matter what you see or hear, don't look surprised. Everything is as normal. Got it? This is no different from you going to the locker rooms in the City Ground.”

”Got it.” The players answered with taut faces.

Looking at their expressions, Tang En nodded his head to show his approval, and then he said to the driver, ”Please open the door.”

Because the Forest team was late in coming out, it made people suspicious, so there were more and more people around their bus now. There were even Middlesbrough players, extending their heads to peer over this side. The game had not started yet, and the Forest team had inadvertently stolen all the limelight.

Just when ”all eyes were on them”, the door of the Forest team bus finally slowly opened, and everyone craned their necks, hoping to see what kind of Forest team would come out after the delay. Unexpectedly, the first person to appear caused an uproar across the board.

Clad in a traditional Chinese robe, and carrying a compass in his hand, Twain stalked down the steps. He immediately attracted everyone's attention! He became the real focus of the fans, the reporters, the television cameras ... All were attracted by him and firmly directed their attention at him.

And what about him? The silent crowd did not have any effect on him. It was as if he could not see these people or the cameras. He marched evenly and calmly towards the stadium along the separated passage, as though there was nobody else present. Regardless of the way he dressed, he did really have a bit of ”the air of a grandmaster”.

The players behind him looked as serious as he was. They were evidently intimidated by Twain's appearance. They did not dare to make jokes at this time, laugh loudly, listen to music or send text messages on their cellphones. They obediently followed behind the manager, and the team walked towards the corridor leading straight to the locker room in the stadium, all under the gaze of countless people.

McClaren was so flabbergasted by Twain's appearance that he stared blankly for a long while without any reaction. Is this still a football match? Can the English Football Association allow a coach to wear such attire onto the field?

In the midst of the uproar in the crowd, Gareth Bale laughed instead. His father looked at him with uncertainty. He pointed at Twain, who was walking in front of the team, and said, ”Mr. Twain is very funny! I've never seen a manager like him, I want to follow behind him to walk in, as it must be very exciting! So many people are looking at them.”

Again, he pointed to the Forest First Team players, then turned back to his father and said, ”Dad, I really want to be inside with them now. I think it must be fun to play for him. Have you heard about it? They took the subway once to a game, and then they encountered some football hooligans!”

His son was speaking excitedly in front of him, and he seemed completely unafraid of the football hooligans. The father affectionately patted his son, and then said, ”When you continue to do well in the youth team, I think this day will soon come, Gareth.”

When the father and son looked up again, Twain and his team had entered the corridor. Apart from the media, the ordinary fans did not know what would happen inside. But there were still a lot of people milling around, and they were expecting the media to return with something interesting, and then broadcast it in the evening news.

But maybe they would be disappointed. The television station's filming could only follow to the locker room door, and then just shoot the inside from outside the door. They did not have the right to shoot inside the locker room.

The Forest team locked the door after they entered the locker room. Then, no one else would know what was already happening, or what would happen inside. Why was Twain wearing such attire? Was it just to do something wacky, to ease the pressure on the players? But his players looked more serious and tense than usual ...

And what did he have in his hand? A compass? But a compass could not be so complicated ... it was engraved with Chinese characters and strange symbols ... Could it be that this was the ”mysterious gift from the East” that Pierce Brosnan mentioned in his article?

Did he plan to use this thing to break the curse of the south locker room?!

Steve McClaren, who was leading his team towards to the locker room, suddenly felt his eyebrows twitch. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to looked outside of the corridor. There was a large crowd of fans and media, who should have completely dispersed to either enter the stadium or go to the bars to watch the game by now.

”What's up, Steve?” McClaren's assistant, the Middlesbrough's assistant coach, Steven John Harrison, saw him stop, and turned to ask.

”Oh, nothing. Let's go ...” McClaren replied, as he shook his head.

Maybe I'm thinking too much?