It is a quarter of a century ago and that young Manchester United striker is now the 45-year-old manager of S****horpe United but Mark Robins is resigned to the fact that, to many people, he will forever be The Man Who Saved Fergie’s Job.

It was in January 1990 that his winning strike in an FA Cup third-round tie at Nottingham Forest provided the platform for the under-pressure Alex Ferguson’s first triumphant Cup run at Old Trafford. It is a long time ago, but as he tells The Independent, “you never get sick and tired of hearing about goals you score”.

He adds: “That was one of the first goals in my first-team career and was a special moment. I had only just turned 20 and it was a goal that was important because it won a game. Down the years it has turned into something slightly different.”

If happy to reminisce, Robins notes wryly that “there was a bit in between me scoring the goal and then finishing” a playing career that took in 12 other clubs, including sides in Denmark, Spain