MALCOLM Shotton had dreamed of walking up the famous 39 steps to lift a major trophy at Wembley since he was a schoolboy.

It is a daydream which goes unfulfilled for all but an exclusive group – and few of them have the luxury of advanced notice quite like Shotton.

Cup finals are often cagey affairs which go to the wire, but goals from Trevor Hebberd and Ray Houghton either side of halftime took the Milk Cup out of Queens Park Rangers’ reach.

To underline the point, Jeremy Charles struck late on to ensure the final minutes were a procession for United to soak up the moment.

“The last 15 minutes we knew the game was ours,” Shotton said.

“And when you go 3-0 up with a couple of minutes to go we were just waiting for the whistle.

“As you were playing you looked around and half the stadium was yellow.

“It was just, ‘wow’.

“I was told beforehand to take everything on board, not just the football but the whole day.

“As a youngster at school you always wanted to be the captain of a football club going up to lift a trophy.

“You watched every cup final and saw the lucky players going up for their medals.

“Going up to lift the trophy was fantastic.

“The medal is in my lounge and when I look across at it now it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.”

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  • Oxford United skipper Malcolm Shotton lifts the Milk Cup

The centre back scaled the stairs in one of the horned hats which proved popular with supporters.

It led to the iconic images of Shotton gleefully clutching the trophy, but it had not come from someone in the stands.

He said: “Peter Baker, who was there for BBC Oxford, passed it to me on the way up the stairs.

“He was such an Oxford United fan, for him it was a privilege to see his club at Wembley and to go and win a major trophy was something beyond belief.

“The club had gone from right down the lower divisions and playing in the top division and playing at Wembley was like somebody writing a story book.”

The surreal spell continued the following day. Drizzle had replaced the glorious Sunday sunshine, but it did not stop thousands turning out for a victory parade through the city centre.

“Nothing surprised you after seeing the support at Wembley and then everyone coming out again in Oxford on a dreary day,”

Shotton said.

“It showed you the warmth of what Oxford was and the delight of everyone. The players and fans were all together, everybody knew everybody – it was a real family orientated club – and that was brilliant.

“Most of the first team players went to watch all the reserve games and our wives all got together.

“My wife went into labour at a Tuesday game with my lad Matthew. She was a week or two early and there was so much laughter going on with the girls that everybody said that was what brought the baby on.

“The whole club was so together.”

  • Pick up a copy of today's Oxford Mail for the full 48-page Milk Cup supplement