League Cup memories: 'How I helped Macca in 1995'

The 1995 League Cup final is known to many as the ‘McManaman final’ thanks to the heroics of Steve McManaman against Bolton Wanderers at Wembley - but Redknapp claims he lent a helping hand to his teammate in achieving the famous feat.

Liverpool lifted the trophy after a 2-1 win over the Football League side, with both of their goals coming from magic manufactured by McManaman.

His first was a wonderful jinking run from deep, leaving a number of Bolton defenders in his wake before firing a drilled effort underneath goalkeeper Keith Branagan.

In the second half, the Scouser put the Reds 2-0 up with another stunner. Starting on the left wing, McManaman cut inside to beat two defenders and then found the net with a neat curling finish.

Despite the two strikes coming from moments of individual brilliance, Redknapp technically provided the service for the second when he took on a Bolton midfielder deep inside his own half and found the match-winner on the left with a direct pass.

It was an assist by all definitions and, when asked by Liverpoolfc.com whether he should be credited with it, Redknapp insisted: “Absolutely! It was a good assist.

“It was a good piece of play as they were just starting to come back into the game. I watched the game not long ago and I forgot I did that.

“I know there was a lot that happened [after the pass] but when you see some of the assists that some people get these days then I’m certainly taking that!”

That goal proved to be the difference on the day as Alan Thompson grabbed one back for Bolton just moments after McManaman doubled Liverpool’s advantage, setting up a nervy final 20 minutes in the process.

In what his first cup final outing, Redknapp recalls the whole day – not just the conclusion of the match – being a nervy occasion.

He said: “I just remember being so nervous. It was my first time at Wembley and all my family were there.

“The first thing you always think of is how hard it was to get tickets and trying to get all your friends there.

“I remember being extremely nervous because there was a lot of pressure. We were the hot favourites but it was a Bolton side full of good players.

“There was a lot of talk about Jason McAteer coming to Liverpool, a few of the boys knew him. They had Bruce Rioch, who was a good manager. I was a big fan of Alan Stubbs and also Alan Thompson in midfield.

“They were actually a Premier League team playing in the Championship, looking back now with the career all those players had.

“I felt nervous because of the expectation but thankfully that day we had Steve McManaman, who was amazing.”

McManaman received the Man of the Match trophy for his performance bu,t according to his teammate, the build-up to the contest belonged to another Scouser.

In a team that featured John Barnes, Rob Jones, Redknapp, McManaman and was captained by Ian Rush, the attention was largely centred on Robbie Fowler.

“Before the final it was all about Robbie,” Redknapp added. “He had a great season that year but Robbie didn’t play badly [that day], it was just Macca stole the show.

“He [McManaman] could do special things that only a few players I played with could. Even in training he was that good, sometimes you didn’t want to be against him.

“I don’t think we perhaps appreciated him as much as we should have done really. He was a class player, one of the best players I had played with.

“Him and Robbie used to drive me crazy sometimes because they used to do this thing where they passed to each other and it was a little bit like ‘any chance?’.

“Everyone liked Robbie and Macca, you couldn’t dislike them. It was a pleasure to play with both of them.”

The win gave Redknapp his first taste of silverware, as was the case for Roy Evans as manager, but there was limited time to enjoy their success.

There was a quick turnaround for the Reds following the final on Sunday as they faced Southampton in a league clash the following Wednesday.

“I just remember Roy Evans saying ‘go easy’ but it’s hard after you’ve just won your first medal, everyone ended up having a right few drinks,” Redknapp said.

“We ended up playing great against Southampton, though, we played an unbelievable game and we hadn’t had a lot of sleep in those few days [between the games].

“It goes so quickly, looking back now I wish I enjoyed it more. The next thing you know, you’re onto the next game.

“I would have loved to have won more at Liverpool but I can still say I won something, which is more than some players. They’re great moments, moments you will never forget.”