ColumnThe inside story of Liverpool's last cup final with Newcastle United

I can’t wait for this final at Wembley and personally it takes me back to a very special place in 1974.

It’s always lovely to go back to Wembley but 1974 is probably one of the great memories – and I had so many at Liverpool, both as a player and assistant manager.

I was 20 and I was playing in an FA Cup final for my local team. I had gone in 1971 when we lost 2-1 to Arsenal in the FA Cup final and that absolutely devastated me, so going back in 1974 and this time in the team was the most wonderful experience.

Next to the league title, the FA Cup was a massive thing and everybody wanted to play in the final, so to do it was very special for me.

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In the build-up to the game, Newcastle had a centre-forward called Malcolm Macdonald, who had a lot to say. It was funny actually because it was the first time I can remember Bill Shankly pinning the newspaper cuttings of what Macdonald was saying on the dressing-room wall.

Later in life when I was with Gerard Houllier, I would do exactly the same thing and laminate the newspaper cuttings so we could all see what was written about us.

I remember doing it with Clinton Morrison’s comments after we lost the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at Crystal Palace. We beat them 5-0 at Anfield!

Macdonald was known as ‘Supermac’ and he was mouthing off in the newspapers about what he was going to do to Emlyn Hughes and this 20-year-old Scouser.

We were basically two midfield players playing at centre-back and Shanks was changing the way Liverpool play. We weren’t the tallest and Macdonald was mouthing off in every media outfit about how he and his partner John Tudor were going to tear us apart and beat us in the air to submission.

I was fired up, so was Emlyn, and we kept a clean sheet! People still ask me to this day if Malcolm is still in my top pocket. I’m just checking now – and there he is!

Little did we know what was to come but in that Newcastle team were two players who would become Liverpool legends. Alan Kennedy played left-back and Terry McDermott, a Kirkby lad, played in central midfield.

There’s some great pictures from the day. I actually swapped shirts with Terry after the game and there comes a funny story.

I’m walking up the Wembley steps with the lads to get the trophy with Terry’s black-and-white shirt on and a black-and-white bowler hat!

A steward stopped me and said, ‘You are not to go yet, this is Liverpool!’ So they got hold of me and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, I need to get with the lads, surely they noticed my red shorts and socks.’ Thankfully they let me up!

That was my first time playing on the hallowed Wembley pitch and it was the most wonderful feeling to walk up the steps to get the trophy.

As for the game itself, we were magnificent. Kevin Keegan, later to become a hero at Newcastle, scored twice and he got the headlines.

The next day, they asked me to go on the TV, my first appearance – I think it was The Big Match with Brian Moore. We recorded it and Kevin had asked if I would come on with him.

I can remember one of the first questions Brian said to me, ‘I could see how you were holding your medal so closely, I bet you’ve still got it on you now?’ So I reached into my pocket and pulled out my medal. I just didn’t want to let it go!

I remember recently doing a Review Show special on LFCTV with Neil Mellor about the 1974 FA Cup final and we used all the technology to highlight the key moments from the game. It was so wonderful to see how dominant we actually were.

I will be at Wembley not in a working capacity but with my family to see the game. We were there together last year on that wonderful afternoon under Jürgen Klopp.

You look back on last year’s final and think how did we win it with so many kids? They did the club and the Academy proud. It was a unique experience, a Liverpool Football Club experience, against the odds and with everybody together.

This time we are playing Newcastle and the atmosphere will be incredible. I’ve always said the Liverpool and Newcastle fans are so similar with the passion they have for their team. We are both working class, love our music and humour but, most of all, they love their football, and maybe a pint or two as well!

I’m expecting Liverpool to win. It would be huge for Arne Slot to get his first trophy at Liverpool, the first of many hopefully.

Phil Thompson was speaking to Liverpoolfc.com's Steve Hunter