My poor knob is well past its best. 85,000 miles of various people's sweaty hands on it have made it all worn and shiny.

After reading somewhere on the web that the C6 RS6 knob will fit the C5 with a little modification, I now have one ready to fit that will match nicely the new steering wheel I have just had fitted. The challenge is, I can't seem to work out how to remove the current one. I've been told that you need to slide the silver sleeve at the bottom down, then pull out the silver button on the side and lift up. However for the life of me I can't get the silver sleeve to slide down, and don't want to force it for risk of breaking it.
Has anyone removed theirs? Is there a technique to it? Any tips appreciated.
Cheers
D