TOM Hicks Jnr today spoke for the first time about being forced to leave an Anfield pub by a group of Liverpool fans. The son of Liverpool’s co-owner beat a hasty retreat from the Sandon pub after being confronted by supporters angry at the way his father is running the club. After being swilled with lager and spat at, Hicks Jnr was shepherded to safety by a team of burly bodyguards. But today he insisted such incidents “come with the territory” and vowed to return to Liverpool in the near future. He told the ECHO: “I went to Sandon with some friends because I have wanted to go for quite some time to see the birthplace of the club. “I also wanted the opportunity to have a direct talk with some of the supporters. “I respect that some patrons have major disagreement with us, but that comes with the territory. “I did have several constructive conversations in my short visit and look forward to following up with them next time I am in Liverpool.” Hicks jnr turned up at the Sandon on Saturday evening after Liverpool’s game against Middlesbrough at Anfield. He took pictures of the exterior of the pub before going inside with the security staff who have shadowed him throughout his stay on Merseyside. He ordered drinks at the bar and stood chatting with his bodyguards before fans in the packed pub began to recognise him. At first, the conversations were cordial with one Liverpool supporter approaching him to register his disquiet about the way Liverpool Football Club is being run. But as an increasing number of fans recognised the 6ft 4ins Texan, the atmosphere soon turned ugly and Mr Hicks and his bodyguards quickly became nervous. Mr Hicks decided to evacuate, but not before he was spat at by one fan and swilled with lager by another. He was surrounded by his bodyguards and rushed out of the establishment and into a waiting people carrier which sped away from the scene as angry fans spilled out of the pub. Reports the vehicle suffered £1,000 worth of damage seemed to be unfounded. The people carrier had left before any supporters even made it onto the street. Mr Hicks has not made a complaint to Merseyside police and is looking to play down the incident. Afterwards he was taken back to the city centre Malmaison hotel where he mixed with tourists and had at least one pre-arranged meeting with one group of Liverpool supporters. Yesterday he watched the Carling Cup final between Tottenham and Chelsea at Wembley. | 
HAVE your say on our Reds Messageboard - click 
RSS News Feed