A BIT O'RED LETTER DAY ALL YOURS; FORD FAI CUP FINAL S FINGAL v SLIGO, TOMORROW Carr: Go out and make yourself a hero.

Byline: PAUL O'HEHIR

THE Sligo Rovers players joke that they are sick and tired of Gerry Carr rambling on about his matchwinning exploits of 1994.

The assistant manager steered home a header to see off Derry City at Lansdowne Road and cap a famous win for the Bit O'Red.

And while he admits he's living off the memories, he's also ready to lend an ear to any of the current squad tomorrow afternoon.

But his one word of advice to those players is not to get ahead of themselves by thinking of the celebrations before a ball is kicked.

Carr and his team-mates were instant legends in Sligo on the back of that success, and the current crop would reach that status too. But Carr said: "It's a great time, a great occasion but as I've said to them 'Don't get afters into your head. It's about winning the cup, the afters take care of itself'."

Carr remembers his Sligo manager of the time, Willie McStay, telling him to lay off the celebrations 15 years ago and the savour the experience.

"I'd just scored the winner in the cup final, the champagne was out, and Willie said: 'Gerry, whatever you do don't drink tonight. Just relax and enjoy the moment.' "He's won things with Celtic, but I said 'Oh Willie f*** off, I've just scored the winner in a cup final.

"But to be fair he was spot on because for a day or two after it becomes a bit of a circus. So that is what I say to the players 'Forget the afters, as there will be no afters unless you win the cup'."

There are similarities to that 1994 win and tomorrow's game. Sligo had just won the First Division. Opponents tomorrow, Sporting Fingal, fell short of that but still secured promotion this season.

Having been the underdog in a final, Carr knows it would be foolish to underestimate Fingal. Recalling his 1994 memories, he added: "We got to the tunnel at Lansdowne and all the Derry boys were standing there, and it was a presumption that they just had to turn up.

"They were all singing 'Here we go again, On the road again' in the tunnel in Lansdowne Road - every one of them, one to 11. That rifled me a little bit.

"If you look at my face in the picture before the game, it is one of 'come on...let's get into them'.

"For our boys tomorrow, there can't be any complacency about what they're doing."

But when it is put to Carr that the spotlight will be taken off him if Sligo score a winner, he just leans back and laughs.

"I'd love that to be fair. I want someone to step up to the plate, get that goal, enjoy themselves, and make themselves a hero."

Sligo manager Paul Cook is also asked for his standout memories from his playing days.

"My favourite one was my first one," he recalls, noting he was a Wigan player at the time. "We played Chelsea in 1985.

"We had a manager called Harry McNally, he's dead now. He was a fantastic football man. We played at Stamford Bridge and Paul Jewell, who was on loan with us, scored one, maybe two, but they ended up scoring a late goal to nick it 2-2.

"Chelsea had a fantastic team at the time, Dixon, Speedie, Nevin. We played them in the replay on a Tuesday in January, at the old Springfield Park. It wasn't a very nice place to play.

"So the Chelsea lads turn up with the snow coming down. They all had the dead smart Crombies on.

"Our manager comes in and he's effing and blinding, telling us that they don't want to play, they don't want to be here, they're trying to get the game called off, everything else.

"But they beat us 6-0. He had us believing we could win. 90 minutes later we all knew what the cup was about."

By 5pm tomorrow, Cook will pray that his Sligo players know what it's about and what it takes to win.

CAPTION(S):

SO NEAR YET SO FAR Gavin Peers, Alan Keane, Paul Cook & Raf Cretaro get their hands on the cup LEGENDsEddie Annand and Gerry Carr celebrate Cup final winner back in 1994 FACE TO FACE Sporting Fingal boss Liam Buckley will pit his wits against Paul Cook of Sligo