AS THE increasingly bitter battle between St Helens and Ian Millward, their former coach, headed to the courts last night, one of the three charges of foul language on which the club dismissed the 44-year-old Australian for gross misconduct was at risk of being undermined.

A lengthy statement by Eamonn McManus, the chairman, outlining the reasons for Millward’s dismissal, quoted from a letter sent to the club by Lord Hoyle, the Warrington Wolves chairman, describing as “disgraceful, despicable and unnecessary” the verbal assault on Gina Coldrick, the Warrington media officer, over arrangements for an after-match press conference.

The letter was sent after the incident in March, yet the first that the Warrington club knew of Millward’s removal, apparently, was seeing it on Teletext on Tuesday afternoon. “Ian Millward subsequently apologised and this apology was accepted by our employee, and with that the matter was closed as far as Warrington were concerned,” a statement by the Wolves said yesterday.

McManus highlighted the fact that Millward apologised some six weeks later only when asked by a Warrington official to do so and after learning that it had become an issue. Warrington having now publicly declared that the matter is closed is an embarrassment, nonetheless.

The other two charges relate to what McManus described as an “unprovoked, aggressive, foul-mouthed attack” on Alex Turner, St Helens’s own press officer, and swearing at the fourth official at the Easter Monday game against Bradford Bulls, for which the RFL found Millward guilty and fined him £500. An allegation by McManus that Millward “lied” about his swearing to a subsequent League hearing is disputed by Richard Cramer, Millward’s solicitor, “because there wasn’t even a hearing”, he said.

McManus confirmed yesterday that other incidents involving Millward, some potentially more serious, were under investigation, but he refused to elaborate. Cramer said: “We’re unaware of any such incidents. If there are more than the three charges of swearing levelled against Ian, then surely they would have been laid at his door.”

Millward is due to give his version of events at a lunchtime press conference before an internal appeal hearing against his dismissal at Knowsley Road, either tonight or tomorrow. McManus’s insistence that Millward, who had 2½ years left on his £200,000 annual contract, would not receive anything in compensation could force the Australian, should he lose his appeal, to take the matter to a tribunal.

“I am shattered, devastated and disillusioned. I just want this to go to a higher court where people will hear the truth,” he told the Sydney Daily Telegraph. Asked if he would consider pushing for a coaching job back in Australia, he said: “I would listen to any club that rings after the appeal. I’m a coach and have got a family to look after.”

Millward enjoys the close support of his players, who have been prevented by the club from speaking, but McManus quoted messages supporting his decision from four former players — Darren Smith, Peter Shiels, Darren Britt and David Fairleigh, all Australian — who worked at the club under Millward.

The most surprising intervention was from Ellery Hanley, Millward’s predecessor, who was dismissed by a previous administration in March 2000 for breaching his contract, including making comments that offended the club’s reputation. He told the BBC Sport website: “Coaches have to abide by particular rules. You cannot step over the mark. Regardless of how successful you are — and who you are — you have to treat everybody in a fashion that’s fair.”

McManus said that he had been inundated with applications for Millward’s job and hopes to appoint a successor within days. Although opposed to the dismissal, supporters’ groups are urging fans to abandon protests and get behind the team and Dave Rotheram, the assistant coach, in the match away to Hull tomorrow.

SWEAR BOX

IAN MILLWARD’S most infamous bout of swearing, for which he received no punishment, occurred after a home match against Hull on August 9, 2003. He used 30 profanities in less than five minutes at the after-match press conference, alleged that “powers that be” were conspiring against St Helens and made the point that his team had overcome numerous injuries to complete a gutsy 28-18 win. Asked how serious the injuries were, he responded:

"They’re all f****** serious. Have you ever played the game at impact? Mate, they were f*****. We had no ball and they were f*****, completely f*****. Every f****** injury. Get out the f****** medical thing and I’ll tell you, it’s there. John Kirkpatrick is f*****, his body’s f*****, he’s got a f***** shoulder, f***** ribs, f***** leg, f***** everything. Those blokes are f****** bust big time. I can’t believe you didn’ t see f****** blood, guts everywhere. We did it f****** tough. Do you understand combat, do you understand warfare? It was war out there."