SADLY now out of the game, former York City boss Alan Little can reflect on the glory of that 3-0 Gold Trafford win with even more poignancy.

"Whatever has happened to me in football and whatever happens in the future, no-one can take that away from me or my staff back then, or that bunch of players, who were one of the best I ever had under my control at Bootham Crescent," he said.

"Getting the club to Wembley (in 1993) and winning promotion there will always be the ultimate for me as not many managers get to do that and even fewer actually win there, but what happened against Manchester United comes close."

Little recalled how he and his staff hoped right up to the kick-off that their team would not be humbled. He never believed his marvellous Minstermen mites would instead dole out the humiliation.

"Not long before our visit, Man U had beaten Ipswich 9-0 in the Premiership and there was a feeling of fearing the worst," said Little, who spent just over six years as City boss before his departure in 1999.

"But when I look back I remember that the players did not need geeing up. Before the match the dressing-room was buzzing and they were all yapping.

"They went out there and gave a performance that was something special. When we had the ball we kept it and passed it well. When we didn't we hunted it down and harried Man U. That 3-0 scoreline was well deserved and it was only in the days after, that I realised the true impact of what we had achieved."

For Little, almost as good as that stunning night in East Lancashire was City finishing off the job on the return when United recruited an even greater galaxy of stars. "That was the true achievement, beating them over the two legs. It gave the fans something they will always remember," he said.