LEGENDARY ex-defender Steve Bruce has spectacularly failed to play it safe at the back - as he made two saucy gaffes on live radio.
The Manchester United hero invented "tickly bum time" - then made an awkward sex joke about former team-mate Gary Pallister.
The two centre-backs won three top-flight titles, a trio of FA Cups and the European Cup Winners' Cup alongside each other at Old Trafford.
But Bruce's famous no-nonsense style deserted him on air.
He began to crack when BBC 5 Live Sport asked him about the monumental title battle between Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.
From tongue scraping to saying no, here are 12 health trends to try in 2023
That's when he reconditioned iconic ex-United boss Alex Ferguson's "squeaky bum time" expression into something potentially more Blue than Red Devil - namely "tickly bum time".
This colourful description could have escaped as a one-off blunder - until Bruce surpassed himself with his follow-up effort.
The ex-Newcastle and Sunderland manager, 63, was explaining how United's stars had no time to rest under a strict regime in the 1990s.
And his second own goal came via an odd explanation of how his partnership with Pallister worked so well.
Bruce said: "We messed about which helped a lot when you play with each other... I don't mean literally.
"You play alongside each other - and that's the way it works."
The ex-Aston Villa chief's "flashback" to his golden years as a player stunned listeners.
"What's going on with Steve Bruce tonight?" asked one football fan, who posted the clips online.
Luckily for listeners, full-time went on his interview before he had the chance to rise the occasion by clinching a hat-trick of cheeky errors.
I want my girlfriend to try dirty talk but she won't do it
