Southampton’s legend Lawrie McMenemy writes touching letter to Claude Puel ahead of EFL Cup Final
Former Saints manager urges current boss to go win it and go one better than him
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SOUTHAMPTON’S greatest ever boss Lawrie McMenemy wrote to manager Claude Puel ahead of Sunday’s EFL Cup final telling him: Win it and go one better than us.
McMenemy, 80, was manager of the club between 1973 and 1985 and is the only Saints chief to lead them to a major trophy when they won the FA Cup against Manchester United in 1976.
Three years later, McMenemy led out the Saints at Wembley again — but was beaten by Nottingham Forest 3-2 in the club’s only League Cup final appearance to date.
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He said: “I have never met Claude but, after they beat Liverpool in the semi-final last month, I wrote him a letter and handed it to the desk the last time I was at St Mary’s and asked if they could pass it on.
“Basically I wished him all the best for the final and said I hoped he would go one better in the League Cup final than we did in 1979, when we lost to Brian Clough’s Forest.
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“It’s nearly 40 years since the club were last in the League Cup final and it would be fantastic if they could win it.
“The 1979 final was a thriller with five goals, but you always want to win at Wembley. But it was a time when Cloughie and Forest were winning trophies for fun.
“My vivid recollection of that time was signing Alan Ball from Arsenal.
“He was a lovely fella and my remit for him when he joined us was to make sure he led us to promotion to the top flight. He achieved this feat, but reaching the League Cup final was a bonus.
“The look on Bally’s face, grinning from ear to ear when he led us out at Wembley, was a memory that will live with me forever.”
McMenemy also gave an indication of how different football was when the Saints last played in that final.
He said: “Players talk about rotation and being rested, but just two days after the Forest final, we were told we had to play an FA Cup sixth round tie against Arsenal.
“I asked the FA if we could get it put back, but they said only if Arsenal agreed. Unsurprisingly, they said they wouldn’t move it. So 48 hours after the League Cup final we played Arsenal at The Dell.
“The game was a draw and we had a replay at Highbury on the Wednesday of the same week — three cup ties in the space of five days!”
Southampton’s legendary former boss will not be at Wembley on Sunday.
But he has defensive concerns because injured Virgil van Dijk and Jose Fonte — now at West Ham — will not be part of the showpiece.
He said: “For me, Van Dijk is the best central defender in the Premier League. Every time I watch him he looks strong and powerful and plays with such confidence.
“Fonte has been one of the few foreigners who has become a long-term fixture in English football.
“It’s a shame he left the club last month. The pair of them are going to be huge misses.
“It’s no coincidence that with these two at the heart of the team, Southampton have been only the second team since Tottenham in 1981-82 to reach a League Cup final without conceding a goal.”