HATS OFF TO McMENEMY THE DAY HE GOT THE BETTER OF MAL

PARADE: McMenemy back in 1976

THERE are some games that are won in the tunnel. And there are victories claimed on a team bus – because of a fur coat and fedora.

Players and managers will often recall how the mental and physical intimidation that takes place before setting foot on the pitch can be a deciding factor.

The Battle of Highbury between Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira and Manchester United skipper Roy Keane is an infamous case in point.

For Lawrie McMenemy, he can go one better than that. Today’s FA Cup semifinal between his old club Southampton and Leicester is a timely reminder of how he eventually led Saints to an historic triumph at Wembley 45 years ago.

But before McMenemy and the late Bobby Stokes wrote their names into Southampton folklore, they had to get by Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.

Managed by the showman Malcolm Allison, and assisted by Terry Venables, McMenemy remembers how the tables were turned on the Palace boss after he spent the build-up teasing Southampton for basing themselves in a Surrey hotel.

“We decided to keep ourselves out of the way because of all the hype that was around the game,” he said.

“Malcolm loved the media coming on to him. He filled their pages for them with his cracks and his comments. He told them he didn’t know where we were and that he were tucked away in the woods.

“I was happy for him to do all the interviews because I wanted us to quietly get ready for it.”

That preparation worked a treat and any tension there may have been as the players headed for Stamford Bridge was quickly eased.

“On the morning of the game we left the hotel in our team bus and had a police escort,” said McMenemy.

“The fans were everywhere and the roads were packed.

“Just as we got to the entrance what did we see? The Palace team bus.

“They arrived at exactly the same time as us. I shouted at our driver to get past them so we pulled out of the escort, which the police weren’t happy about.

“We were staring at them and they stared at us through the windows. Then one of our lads shouted, ‘Look at the state of him!’ It was Malcolm Allison.

“He had a big fur coat on and was wearing a fedora. There was laughter on our bus and it was just a little bit of one-upmanship for us.”

We’ll soon discover if Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers makes a fashion error to hand Saints the initiative.