Steve Howey says he is still reminded of Newcastle United's near title miss back in 1996 - and always tells people the same thing.
Despite being part of a Newcastle side that almost ended their quest for a first top-flight title since 1927, Howey insists he and his team-mates all agree that they would not change tactics if they could turn back time.
Kevin Keegan remembered
Tributes have poured in for then United boss Kevin Keegan, who died on Monday at the age of 75. The Newcastle legend was known for his brand of attacking football, which so nearly brought the title to Tyneside.
It was 30 years ago that Newcastle watched a 12-point lead at the top of the table evaporate as a relentless Manchester United team refused to give up, with stars like Eric Cantona and Peter Schmeichel in sparkling form towards the end of the season.
Costly defeats
Costly defeats at Liverpool, Blackburn and West Ham cost the Magpies dearly but Howey told Chronicle Live: "The daft thing is, while you wanted to be remembered for winning things, whenever I speak to the lads from that team and we talk about whether we'd change anything, every one of them said no.
"We'd still play that way. Kevin Keegan always said to us if he'd changed to a defensive system or parked the bus, we'd have got more criticism.
"Really, we'd played that entertaining brand to get there, and we just had to go for it the same way in the run-in."
Lack of experience
When asked why it went so wrong 30 years ago, Howey remains philosophical and feels that Newcastle just lacked that little bit of experience. Howey said: "I think looking back, we lacked a bit of experience in that situation. Only maybe David Batty and Peter Beardsley had won it before.
"And let's be honest, look at the Man United team, it was a classic Man United team, Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel, Ryan Giggs, Gary Pallister, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane."
Everybody's second team
But regardless of how the whole title dream ended in 1996, Howey says people still remind him that Newcastle will always be their 'second team' because of what unfolded. Howey said: "I do the lounges with John Beresford, and the reaction you still get off supporters now 30 years on, it is ridiculous given we didn't win it. People want to talk about their favourite moments and favourite goals.
"It was well documented that we were everybody's second team. If you supported Derby or Sheff Wed or Preston, they loved watching Newcastle. That said it all for me.
"Ultimately, though, it would have been perfection if we'd topped it off and won the title in 1996 because of the brand of football we played and the way Kevin wanted us to play. We wanted to play like that too. It just wasn't to be."
