THERE was no more joyous image than Paul Barnes thrusting his arms into the Manchester air to mark his two-goal demolition of the Red Devils.

Barnes, whose scoring exploits captured the hearts of the City faithful, captivated an entire footballing nation, who were propelled into giant-slaying rapture, save for those crimson-faced supporters of Manchester United, of course.

Now in the year that he has finally hung up his goal-laden boots, Barnes reckoned the Old Trafford feat exceeded that of City's promotion valour at Wembley.

Ventured the striker, who tallied 85 goals in 179 appearances as a Minsterman: "When you think of all the coverage the players and the club got in the aftermath of our win at Old Trafford, it was our 15 minutes of fame. The media and television coverage went on for weeks. While Wembley was a great day for the club, I loved the win over Man U better."

Barnes, who left York within six months of routing Sir Alex Ferguson's stars for Birmingham City, revealed how he was recently invited to attend the school of his children, nine-year-old daughter Megan and seven-year-old son Harvey, to give a talk on his career.

He said: "When you tell the kids that not only did York City beat a Manchester United team including Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, but that you scored against them as well, their eyes just light up."

One of the best sights for Barnes on that unforgettable night was gazing up at the near 3,000-strong throng of City fans hailing their heroes. "I thought to myself this shouldn't be happening', but it was very well deserved and 3-0 never flattered us. I had a goal' which should never have been disallowed, so it could have been even more," said the front-man, who is now co-director of a finance brokerage firm in his native Midlands.

"They were fantastic times. The only sadness for me is how far York have since dropped as a club."