under the new manager, Ruud Gullit. Byrne simultaneously performed both jobs over the next three years. He worked for England as one of the team masseurs, rejuvenating tired and injured players between matches. This is where his close friendship with the rising young star David Beckham began to develop. Back at Chelsea, Gullit was sacked in February 1998, but Byrne continued under the next manager, Gianluca Vialli. Byrne's relationship with Beckham intensified during the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France where the masseur became a close confidant to the twenty-three-year-old, helping him cope with the pressures of his first major international tournament. Byrne became the listening post through the player's World Cup ups and downs, such as not playing in the opening group match against Tunisia or his free-kick goal against Colombia. After Beckham was sent off in the second round against Argentina, Byrne alone accompanied Beckham back to the changing room, offering a shoulder to cry on as well as providing continuing support while the English public and the media criticised the player. In 1999, Byrne's attempt to put the ball back into play during a Chelsea match against Coventry City led to a brawl with the Coventry manager, Gordon Strachan, and along with others he was later fined for misconduct. In September 2000, early in the 2000–01 Premier League season, Vialli was sacked by Chelsea. Byrne continued the 2000–01 Chelsea season under the new manager, Claudio Ranieri. At the end of the season, Byrne left Chelsea after nine years with the club, following an offer from Vialli to be a part of his extensive management team at Watford. Watford FC general manager and director of football Byrne joined Watford F.C. in 2001, brought in by Vialli on a three-year contract. The club drew up an ambitious three-year plan of gaining promotion from the second-tier First Division and returning to the Premiership where it had played during the 1999–00 season. Several high-profile signings, such as 30-year-old Ramon Vega and 24-year-old Stephen Hughes, joined in summer 2001 as the wage bills soared, with even Vialli paid close to £1 million a year. Byrne's exact duties as general manager in Vialli's management team were very loosely defined as he became involved in various aspects of the club's backroom business. By Christmas, it was obvious that Watford had no hope of promotion and, coupled with the spring 2002 collapse of ITV Digital,