David McGoldrick rolled back the years to recall how Harry Redknapp, whose QPR side take on Town at Loftus Road on Saturday, handed him his first team debut at Southampton.
It was back in September 2005 that Redknapp turned to McGoldrick (pictured above during his spell at St Mary's) and current England international Theo Walcott in a vain effort to avoid an embarrassing Carling Cup exit at Mansfield.
McGoldrick, who was still 17 at the time, remembered: "We were losing 1-0 and he brought me and Theo on towards the end. He told us to go on and change the game but unfortunately it didn’t happen and we still lost.”
But the Town striker reflects positively on Redknapp’s influence even if it didn’t last very long because the long-serving manager was lured back to former club Portsmouth after a short stint along the south coast.
McGoldrick, who had joined the Saints from hometown club Notts County, added: "I only played under him a few times but I consider him to be a great manager. He really knows what he’s doing and he’s got good people around him.
"His assistant, Kevin Bond, took me on loan to Bournemouth when he was manager there. I know them quite well and they are good people.
"Harry would always tell you to express yourself and he likes to work with players on a one-to-one basis, always encouraging you to do better but also telling you how well you are doing.
"I remember him talking about the great players he had worked with, people like Joe Cole and Frank Lampard at West Ham, and stressing how hard they worked to get to the top.
"He drummed it into the young lads that they had to work hard if they wanted to be successful. He was only in charge for a brief spell before he went back to Pompey and then George Burley took over from him.
"I can see similarities between Harry and Mick McCarthy. They have assistants, Kevin Bond and Terry Connor, who do a lot of the coaching but as gaffers they really come alive on match days.
"They are both Premiership managers in my opinion and Mick is definitely one of the best I have worked under.
"I was only a young lad when I was playing for Harry. I was looking up to him and unfortunately I didn’t play for him that long.”