FOLLOWING Sunday's tenth anniversary of Watford's play-off win over Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium, the Hornets' goalkeeper from that historical day joins www.watfordfc.com to discuss his memories.

Alec Chamberlain was between the sticks for the Golden Boys in 1999, now Goalkeeper Coach at Vicarage Road, he casts his mind back to that day.

He said: "There was a 10-day window or so between the semi-final and the final and it's still the same today.

"We had a day off after the Birmingham game to get over the excitement and to have a rest, then we started training and our preparation.

"For a period we trained at West Herts Cricket Club and then moved on to a Grammar School near Watford.

"The facilities were superb, but they were exciting times and there was a great deal of anticipation.

"With the way the season had gone, we felt it was our destiny really.

"As a squad we were supremely confident going into the final, we felt we had a side that could win."

Chamberlain was a regular that season for the Golden Boys, under the guidance of Graham Taylor.

Recalling the day in north London on 31 May 1999, Chamberlain added: "There was a big Watford following at Wembley.

"I think Bolton tried to play down the whole day, but we wanted to make it a big cup final.

"On the morning of the game I remember being very nervous.

"There was lots of expectation and looking back at the pictures now with my family, I realise how nervous I was.

"I looked like a sheep in the photos! I was obviously so tense and nervous.

"The whole day was great - once the national anthem was out of the way and the game started the nerves went away.

"The anticipation and the nerves were worse than the event, once the game started that went away - I had a way of dealing with things.

"The game itself obviously went well and we were solid and as a goalkeeper I was delighted with the clean sheet!"

The Hornets overcame The Trotters 2-0 that day thanks to a first half strike from Nick Wright and a goal late on from substitute Allan Smart.

Once the game finished, Chamberlain enjoyed the moment with his team mates, family and friends - he insists that it's something that will stay with him forever.

"The celebrations were something that I will never forget" commented the former Colchester stopper.

"Seeing Wembley and all that glorious yellow made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, even thinking about it now does.

"Everything was fantastic, from the game to the walk up the steps through to the celebrations.

"I still have lots of memorabilia from the day itself, I have a collage of photos on the wall at my house with the date on it so I knew the anniversary was coming up."

The promotion was all the more amazing considering the fact that the squad had just risen from a lower league.

However, the team spirit and togetherness of the side saw them through the difficult patches and they improved as the season went on.

Chamberlain says that talk of another success didn't take place amongst the squad during pre-season or early part of the season.

He said: "At the start of the season, we didn't talk about promotion as a squad.

"We were the new boys but we had a feel-good factor about us.

"We proved that we belonged in that league and made a reasonable start.

"Then the momentum slowly built, Tommy Mooney went on a great run and drove us forward - it was our destiny to get promoted I believe."

To read Allan Smart's account of the day, please click here.

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