Tim Lovejoy wanted SOCCER AM called up for ‘something inappropriate’ every week

SOCCER AM’s Rocket claims legendary presenter Tim Lovejoy wanted to get in trouble for “something inappropriate” on the show every week.

Rocket says Lovejoy aimed to “push boundaries” and regularly be “called into the head’s office” as that meant the show was doing a good job.

And for that reason he believes a similar programme could never be made again – because nowadays people get offended too easily.

Sky Sports have sparked anger from fans by announcing they will boot Soccer AM out from May 27.

And Rocket, who was on the show from 1998-2017, has explained how Lovejoy’s mischievous energy kept the team on their toes.

He said: “Every week Tim would say ‘if we are not pushing the boundaries we are not doing our job’.

“He wanted to be called into the head’s office every week for something that had been inappropriate or he pushed it too far.

“But he said, ‘that’s when you know you’re doing a good job’. That was the mentality of the show.”

Rocket added: “Sadly I don’t know if that show can exist now because if there’s a reason to complain about something, generally someone will. They’ll take offence.

“There’s so much you could have taken offence at. We pushed it to the line a lot of the time.”

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But he insisted the show’s main role – and attraction – was as light-hearted escapism, helping fans let their hair down or shake off the blues.

He said: “We did have a laugh. I think that’s what made Saturday AM what it was.

“We were a bunch of blokes just messing about on a Saturday morning.

“I think all we wanted to do was make people smile.

“If you were having a sh*t day at work, or a sh*t week at work, or you’d fallen out with your missus, or the kids are driving you mad, for those three hours we wanted to entertain you, we wanted to make you smile and forget about your worries.

“If I made a fool of myself, so what, who cares?

“I’m trying to entertain and make people forget about their lives if they’re having a rough time or whatever.”

Rocket also feels it’s a show in touch with all levels of the game.

He said: “The thing I liked, it wasn’t just the Premier League. It was Sunday League, all the way up to the Premier League.

“We’d be chatting to the tea lady at Leyton Orient and the next moment we’d chat to John Terry, England captain.

“We were like a big warm hug on a Saturday morning. ‘Come on in, you’re part of our gang. Come and spend a Saturday morning with us’.

“We’ll make you laugh. We’ll take the p*ss out of each other but it will be tongue in cheek.”