1976 ... and all that.

FA Cup winner Nick Holmes recalls Saints' historic Wembley victory with Mike Turner

When did you sense that your name might be on the cup?

Right at the start. The lads felt that the writing might be on the wall when we equalised in injury time in that first game against Villa at The Dell.

We were one down for most of the game then Hughie Fisher comes off the bench and scores his one and only goal of the season to get us a replay.

Villa were a good side in the First Division those days, but we went up there and paralysed them.

We just felt then that there was something. The lads started believing it and said: "We'll win this." But I just went with the flow. I was 21 at the time and whatever they said was good enough for me.

There are quite a few similarities between Saints' road to the final this year and that of your side in '76.

We missed the two favourites and drew Crystal Palace in the semi final who were a league lower than us. But we'd also had Bradford in the sixth round

They were 91st of 92 league clubs then. Everything was rolling our way. I know we beat Tottenham in the third round, but they've had the luck of the draw this season.

What do you remember of the build up to the final?

We went away a few days before and stayed at the Selsdon Park Hotel which had a golf course and table tennis and things.

There was always something to do. The press were always around and the talk was about the final all the time.

I was very fortunate to be around such experienced players who'd been there before and experienced it all.

I was a pretty nervy sort of lad especially before games and in particular a final which was going to be shown live in front of millions worldwide.

They didn't let it get to you. They'd always involve you in things like the table tennis and snooker tournaments. Otherwise I think I could have got lost with the importance of the game.

How important a role did Lawrie McMenemy play in getting you relaxed for the game?

He was a very good man manager. Absolutely superb. His team talk before the semi final and then the final were just superb.

He was right. He showed us that we were the more experienced side.

Man United might be in a higher league, but he said these boys are not as experienced as us. They've only played 50 games or whatever.

Then he looked around at us and said the experience is in our dressing room. Osgood had played 400 games, Channon had 400, McCalliog the same, Rodrigues had had 600 or whatever. Lawrie told us just to be patient.

If you remember, for the first 20 minutes of the final, we had our backs to the wall. They were young and they were fast and they were flying. They came at us all the time. But gradually we started getting into our game and settled down.

I can remember in the second half I felt: "This is here - we can do it. It really is ours for the taking."

We were getting a few chances and they were running out of ideas.

When Bobby Stokes tucked the ball into the net did you think one goal would be enough?

Yes, definitely. I really did.

I didn't think they had caused us any problems at all in the second half and that was a great tribute to the experienced boys like Peter Rodrigues and Jim McCalliog.

For them it really was the last throw of the dice.

It meant so much to them. It did for me too.

But they were probably coming to the end of their careers and everything they had been saying in the build-up came to fruition.

How did you spend cup final night?

It was awful. We were at the Talk of the Town watching some cabaret entertainer.

David Coleman and the Match Of The Day cameras were there and we were going out live.

The Talk of the Town was a monstrous place.

I would have loved to have just come home to Southampton and have all the lads and the family and close friends around you. But there we were stuck at The Talk of the Town.

Julie Rogers was the cabaret singer.

What do you remember about taking the cup home?

That's a bit more vivid. The pressure was off and the nerves had all gone by then.

The trip around Southampton was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I don't think the council expected us to win the cup. They'd planned this bus ride which they expected to take 30 minutes and it took us four and a quarter hours.

You just couldn't move around Southampton. The bus couldn't get through the crowds. It just crawled at a couple of miles an hour.

There were so many people. When we got to the city centre it was amazing. People were clinging onto buildings and hanging off trees. I never thought I'd see that. It was a great day.

Then on the Monday we had Micky Channon's testimonial. The lucky bugger had a testimonial at The Dell. Full house.

The match got abandoned a minute before the end because all the crowd came on the pitch. Nobody cared, especially Mick. It was just a wonderful three days.

Saint Strachan

SOUTHAMPTON were staring relegation in the face when Stuart Gray was sacked in October 2001.

It took his replacement Gordon Strachan five games to impose his style on the players and get a win, and improved fitness was a key reason for their run to 11th spot. Paul Williams, Paul Telfer, Fabrice Fernandes and Brett Ormerod were all added to the squad for modest fees.

Strachan continued to strengthen with the signings of defender Michael Svensson and goalkeeper Antti Niemi, as well as young English pair David Prutton and Danny Higginbotham just before the transfer window slammed shut in January 2003.

He has fostered an incredible team spirit with a group of players who fight for each other. The mean defence has proved a formidable bedrock for success, and the goalscoring exploits of James Beattie have been made possible by the craft and toil of the rest of the team.

An FA Cup winners' medal would be a fitting tribute to Saints' effervescent boss and the remarkable job he has done.

Win a St Mary's tour

FANCY taking a look behind the scenes at Saints' fabulous ground as the guest of the club?

Journal Sport has teamed up with Southampton FC to offer you and your family a personal guided tour of the Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium. The offer entitles a family of four to a trip to the stadium on a date to be arranged. For a chance to win, simply tell us: Who scored Saints' 1976 cup winning goal?

Answers on a postcard to Saints Competition, Journal Sport, Salisbury Journal, 8-12 Rollestone St, Salisbury, SP1 1DY.

Usual Journal competition rules apply and the editor's decision is final. Closing date is May 27.