As we always did, three hours before Harry announced the team, we assembled as a staff before the pre-match meal to talk about how the match was shaping up: who was fit; who’d be marking who; and what we were doing at set-pieces.

I remember going into the meeting used to name the team, thinking it was going to be a certain shape and certain individuals. Harry then comes in, and changes the strikers from what we thought it was going to be. I sat there and looked at Joe; Joe looked at me and shook his head. This wasn’t what Harry had said an hour ago.

We got to the Etihad, where Joe checked with him. The decision Harry had made was that Peter Crouch would play. That evening, Crouchy scored the all-important goal – and that was Harry.

“Sometimes you feel vulnerable and under pressure to produce, but Harry knew what to say and how to say it”

Sometimes you think: “How did he do that?”

It was just that gut instinct: “This is the way it’s going to work tonight.” And we ended up qualifying for the Champions League.

He had a real feel for the players, certainly looking at them in the days before a game. He always had a picture in his mind of what he thought was his best team – sometimes it changed for a reason only Harry (below, right) would know, but more often than not he got it right.

That win over Manchester City was a classic case of when he did – the skill was in not hyping that match up too much. He instilled that confidence in players. Sometimes in big games you feel vulnerable and under pressure to produce, but he knew what to say and how to say it.