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23rd January 2015
01:17pm GMT

Whiteside feels, although their was no First Division title breakthrough during his time at United, the squad possessed great unity. 'We had a good bond but if I’m honest it wasn't the whole 11 or the whole 15. You would have your cliques - Bryan Robson, myself, Paul McGrath, Kevin Moran and Gordon McQueen. They would be the ones who would go and have a couple of beers in Paddy’s pub and have a bit of a get-together.'
Whiteside shared digs, in Manchester, with McGrath, Moran and Ashley Grimes. There were nights in, watching Coronation Street, but they were rare. Indeed, Whiteside recalls the lead-up to an incident, described in McGrath's book Back from the Brink, when the Ireland defender crashed his car while intoxicated.
He says, 'I was supposed to be in the car... I had brought my father-in-law out because he had done a lot of work in my house. I took him and all his workers out for lunch and I rang Paul. I said, ‘Paul do you want to call in on your way back and say hello to the guys?'
'We had a few in the afternoon and next thing we knew where’s he gone so his missus rang me. Then the police were ringing, going mad, wanting to check bloods. So, I went down to the hospital to see him. But I lived with him and didn’t know half of the stuff. He kept so much behind him.'
The former teammates remain in touch to this day and are never short of a tweet, back and forth, about old times and future plans.
Whiteside was only too delighted to reflect on his FA Cup triumphs, in 1983 and '85, with United. Following a replay win over Brighton in 1983, the Red Devils were beaten in the third round in 1984.
He says, 'We went down to Bournemouth, who were in Division Three, and we lost 2-0. It was the worst day of my life. We can back (to Manchester) and Big Ron (Atkinson) said, 'Go into the gym and run from wall to wall' and he left us for about two days. He ran us into the ground. Bournemouth beat Manchester United, the holders.'
Redemption arrived, for Whiteside, a year on, and in spectacular fashion, as 10-man United beat Everton 1-0 in extra time. The former Northern Ireland international recalls receiving the ball on the right wing, raising his head and beginning a gallop towards the Toffees' box. 'I looked up and seen Neville (Southall) in goal,' he says. 'Neville can see the ball from the near post so I threw my leg over the ball and at that time [Everton defender] Pat Van Den Hauwe obstructs Neville and he can’t see the ball so that’s when you go and hit it.
'Once I’ve hit the ball, Neville can see it once it’s gone around the defender. That’s the distance you buy. He was never getting his hand to it because he’s too late. If you look at his hand when the ball goes in the net, that’s the distance I’ve bought. I used the defender as a screen.'
*Whiteside was in Dublin, this week, to highlight the upcoming FA Cup fixtures on the Setanta Sports pack. The weekend’s action includes Manchester United’s trip to Cambridge United, on Friday, the matches between Manchester City and Middlesbrough, and Liverpool and Bolton on Saturday, as well as the game between Brighton and Hove Albion and current FA Cup holders Arsenal on Sunday.
The Setanta Sports pack has five channels in total including Setanta Ireland, Setanta Sports 1, BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN.Explore more on these topics: