McParland draws parallel with Villa in 1957

FA CUP hero Peter McParland has called on Aston Villa to harness the spirit of 1957 and revealed then-coach Bill Moore had already planned their celebrations beforehand.

The 81-year-old scored twice at Wembley in Villa’s last FA Cup win 58 years ago when they beat Manchester United 2-1.

Faced with the Busby Babes, Villa were underdogs but McParland said they believed they would win after trainer Moore, who aided boss Eric Houghton, outlined their plans for a post-victory photo opportunity.

Villa play Arsenal in the Wembley final today and McParland senses a similar situation to 1957.

“Arsenal are going to be hot favourites and then Manchester United were hot favourites,” he said.

“We were the same. We had the last team talk in the hotel and our trainer Bill Moore, who was way before his time, nominated two players — Stan Lynn and Peter Aldis — to get the captain (Johnny Dixon) on their shoulders with the Cup.

“That was a tradition, the skipper being lifted up, and if you see the pictures Bill is in front with a big smile on his face so he had all that planned.

“That was a psychological boost for us. We were confident and there was a spirit in the team that we could do this.”

McParland, who played for Villa between 1952 and 1962, recalled his brace with impressive accuracy: “For the first I nipped in front of Duncan Edwards and Bill Foulkes and hammered it with my head – I really hammered it.

“The second I headed the ball back to Johnny Dixon on the penalty spot and he hit the bar, it went into the air and I was able to move to the six-yard line and caught it on the volley.”