I’m not the biggest phan of the Phillies current skipper, but anyone who tells Dallas Green to go fuck himself is OK with me.

Well, anyone other than Steve Avery.

From the Philadelhia Inquirer’s Jim Salisbury.

The next time Charlie Manuel gets in the face of a Phillies icon, he might want to tip off the team’s marketing department. Think of the tickets that could be sold. The T-shirts!

What Manuel lacked in promotional flair, he made up for in red-faced moxie last night when he confronted Dallas Green (above) near the dugout about 90 minutes before the Phillies played the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies had just concluded batting practice when Manuel, the current and frequently criticized manager, wagged his index finger and gave the former manager a tongue-lashing.

Green criticized Manuel’s job performance during a radio interview several weeks ago. It got back to Manuel, and people close to him say he has seethed about it ever since.

Sources say that Green was “slapped on the wrist” for criticizing Manuel and that his “punishment” included staying away from the field, clubhouse and dugout, not that Green was often seen in these areas.

Before last night’s game, after the gates had opened to fans, Green made a rare trip to the field to show some friends around.

Green craned his neck and tried to say hello to Manuel as the skipper walked from the batting cage to the dugout. Manuel, clearly simmering, motioned for Green to step his way.

The whole thing lasted about 60 seconds and Manuel, 62, appeared to do all the talking. At one point, he angrily jabbed his index finger in front of Green, still robust at age 72. Other than that, Manuel kept his cool while delivering his message.

Green, a noted hothead, did nothing. Had the confrontation occurred in private, it might have been a different story. When Manuel finished talking, Green walked away.

“It wasn’t very friendly,” Green said. “That’s his style. He’s got some macho to him.”

What did Manuel say?

“He said he doesn’t like what I said, and he doesn’t like me,” Green said.

He shrugged.

“I don’t give a [hoot],” he said. “He’s entitled to say what he wants. I’m entitled to say what I want. He got some things off his chest.”

In his office moments after the quick but pointed confrontation, Manuel was more tight-lipped than Green.

“It’s like I always tell you guys, if I’ve got something to say, I’ll say it,” Manuel said. “I felt like I needed to say something and I did.

“The things he said bothered me. I felt like he didn’t support me or my staff.”

Manuel said Green left him a voice mail several days after the critical radio interview, but he scoffed at the timing of the phone call.

“He called me at 7:15, after the game had started one night,” Manuel said dismissively. “This was the first time I saw him. That’s all I want to say.”