Southend United head coach Kieron Dyer turned a routine pre-match press conference into a secret Michael Jackson challenge, with the manager attempting to work as many of the King of Pop’s song titles into his answers as possible.
The unusual challenge was set by Dyer’s players, who asked their manager to sneak Michael Jackson references into the press conference without the journalists noticing.
The mission was also for a good cause, with money being donated to charity if Dyer managed to complete the challenge.
And it appears he succeeded.
During the press conference, Dyer naturally discussed Southend United’s performances, recruitment and their upcoming National League match against Yeovil, but several of his answers contained carefully hidden Michael Jackson song titles.
Talking about the upcoming game, Dyer said:
“It’ll be two teams trying to dominate the ball and play football. I expect a real Thriller of a game on Saturday…”
Later, while discussing the club’s performance and the data behind it, he added:
“It’s always good to reflect and look at the Man In The Mirror…”
He also found an opportunity to reference Michael Jackson’s famous Black or White:
“Football’s not Black or White. There’s always going to be the good and there’s always going to be the bad.”
And perhaps the biggest giveaway came when discussing potential recruitment targets:
“Can’t name names, but it could be some random Joe Bloggs or a random Billie Jean or something like that.”
Despite dropping several very recognisable Michael Jackson titles into his answers, Dyer revealed at the end of the press conference that nobody had apparently noticed the references.
He told the reporters:
“I can’t believe you didn’t clock that. Can’t believe it, especially when I said Billie Jean.”
Dyer then explained the challenge:
“I was challenged by the lads to see how many Michael Jackson songs I could get in my press conference. And the money will get donated to charity but I got quite a few in I think.”
The press conference was therefore not only an entertaining way for Dyer and his players to raise money for charity, but also a rather clever Michael Jackson Easter egg hunt for the journalists in attendance.
Southend United, also known as the Shrimpers, currently sit seventh in the National League with 10 points from their opening five games. They face Yeovil, who are fourth with 11 points from five matches.
Dyer will be hoping his side can continue their strong start to the season — and, after managing to work Thriller, Man in the Mirror, Black or White and Billie Jean into one press conference, perhaps there are a few more Michael Jackson titles waiting to be discovered in future interviews.
Watch the video below and see if you can spot all of Kieron Dyer’s Michael Jackson references.
