COLIN Addison certainly gave his Hereford players something to chew on during their headline-hitting cup run.

The player-manager would take his side for a pre-match steak at the city's Spread Eagle pub before each round .

And it definitely proved the right ingredient because the players were raring to tuck into the opposition after devouring their extra large steak, tea and toast.

"Steak - an extra large one - was what we did in those days, but you wouldn't give it to players before a match now due to the problems in digesting it," said Addison who set the club on the remarkable cup run within a month of his arrival at Edgar Street.

"Our trainer Peter Isaac and myself took the players to the Spread Eagle before the match against Cheltenham and it became a ritual before every round. It was a way to get all the players together and an opportunity to give the team talk.

"Motivation was never a problem, however, because everyone got on and respected each other, and we had an abundance of team spirit," he said.

Addison also led his players into an empty St James' Park on the day before Hereford's tie at Newcastle to make sure his side knew what to expect.

Again, it worked for Addison who admittedly scored one of the best goals of his career the following afternoon, only to be overshadowed by Brian Owen's sensational strike which silenced the feverish Newcastle supporters.

He added: "30 years on I still live in Hereford and never a day goes by when someone doesn't mention about the cup run.

"It was an absolutely magical period and it has had a tremendous impact on all of our lives."