Keith Peacock and the trick that saw Charlton beat the cold weather

John Robinson’s Valley Stories feature is set to be published on Friday and, ahead of it, we have taken a look back at clips from previous episodes.

Today, Charlton legend Keith Peacock remembers how he and his teammates used to be offered a sip of whisky before games to help them beat the freezing weather in winter… 

During Charlton legend Keith Peacock’s playing days, it took a lot for a match to be postponed. 

Pitches covered in snow and ice would often be deemed playable and, in the event of arctic weather, the Addicks squad would sometimes take additional measures to keep themselves warm.

Peacock played 591 games for Charlton and he remembered the superstition which, when he had first turned professional, would see him be offered a small amount of alcohol.

He said: “In the cold weather, you had some players – and this is really going back to my early days – who would drink a tot of whisky. Some players would have it and others would just rub it onto their knees and that almost became a superstition. 

“That faded away, though, and I think the physio at the time would offer the players a drink and then have the rest himself to keep warm on the sideline!”

On other superstitions, Peacock added: “Lennie Glover would wait until he was coming down the tunnel before he put his shorts on and certain players would insist on coming out of the tunnel in a certain order, like second, fourth or last. 

“Routines came in more and more and that only increased the superstitions when warm-ups became more of a thing.”

Keith Peacock's Valley Stories feature is split into two parts and both are available to watch on Valley Pass.

Read Time: 2 mins