“i went to shake wrighty’s hand after leeds beat arsenal and he ended up trying to choke me...”

GUNNAR HALLE

What do you recall of the high drama on the final day of the 1990-91 season, after Oldham brought you to England en route to securing promotion to the top flight?

For me, it was fantastic. We had the chance to go up and seal the title, but we were 2-0 down at home to Sheffield Wednesday. We got back to 2-2, then won a penalty in injury time. Neil Redfearn was calm, but I think his heart rate was high as he took that one. He scored and we won the title. The following day was wonderful, as we had a bus parade in front of the fans. Most people remember us in that era for the plastic pitch! It was fine with rubber studs, but the surface had a layer of sand on top and it was really hard. If you did a slide tackle on it, you knew about it the next morning! We had a bit of an advantage over other teams, maybe. I prefer playing on grass, but that pitch was special.

In the inaugural Premier League season, Oldham narrowly avoided relegation on goal difference – yet only two other teams in the division scored more goals...

Yeah, you could say we were an attacking team! It was a big challenge to stay up, but Joe Royle created a strong team spirit to help achieve survival and it was great to be a part of that. Looking back, team spirit was pivotal. Some players liked to go and socialise down the pub, which was something I wasn’t very used to. You shouldn’t drink too much as an athlete, but sometimes the players did. This also meant that the squad developed a real bond. In terms of tactics, the manager was offensive-minded: he tried to win every game, even if that meant taking a few precautions against some sides.

You were also part of Norway’s greatest era on the international stage, reaching consecutive World Cups. You even bagged a hat-trick against San Marino...

Not many players have scored a hat-trick for Norway – four or five, I think – so to say that I’m one of them is nice. That win in 1992 was a big statement for us. Being in a group with the Dutch and England, it set the standard.

How did Norway beat a Holland side with the likes of Van Basten, Rijkaard, Koeman, Bergkamp and Frank de Boer after that?

Our coach, Egil Olsen, gave us the belief that we could beat anyone as long as we followed the plan. We were a Team with a capital ‘T’ and the results strengthened our confidence. He set us up