‘If you fail at Liverpool, everybody tells you about it. I thought we were a better team than Man United – or better to watch – but they managed games better’: Ex-Reds midfielder describes failure to dethrone their bitter rivals in the 1990s

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 12: Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs is challenged by Jason McAteer (2nd l) and Michael Thomas (r) as Dominic Matteo (l) looks on during the FA Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on October 12, 1996 in Mnachester, Engand. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Allsport/Getty Images).

Liverpool will be hoping to see out the final weeks of the season without any major dramas and claim their 20th league title in the club’s history - a feat which would see them match Manchester United’s tally.

Reds fans will also revel in the current gap between them and their bitter rivals, who appear set for a bottom-half finish, which would be their worst of the Premier League era.

This all acts as a reminder that football can be cycular, as you only have to look back to the 1990s, when a talent-packed Liverpool side were unable to get past their rivals from down the M62.

Liverpool fell short in taking on Mancheter United

Sir Alex Ferguson's side dominate the 1990s

Jason McAteer was one of a number of young, local Liverpool players tasked with stopping Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and has recalled the moment he signed for the club and the situation he walked into.

"I was a Liverpool fan,” McAteer exclusively tells FourFourTwo. “The dream of any youngster is to play for their boyhood club; I picked the best team in the world, so to achieve that dream was a million miles away.

McAteer was a member of the so-called Spice Boys (Image credit: Getty Images)

“By their very high standards, Liverpool weren’t in an amazing place at that time. The challenge for the Premier League title was becoming much harder for Graeme Souness, so they changed direction and appointed Roy Evans.

“Me and Alan Stubbs were making headlines at Bolton because of how well we were progressing. Kenny Dalglish tried to sign me at Blackburn first, but then Liverpool came in so I went straight up to Anfield.

“It was a dream come true, but you soon have to become professional about it.”

McAteer’s three-and-a-half-year spell at Anfield ended trophyless, with the club having lost an FA Cup final and coming up just short in the Premier League each season.

Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish celebrate (Image credit: Getty Images)

"I look back with a tinge of frustration as we didn’t win the Premier League title,” McAteer admits. “We finished third three times, and fourth. For Liverpool, that’s failure, and if you fail at Liverpool, everybody tells you about it.

“I thought we were a better team than Manchester United – or better to watch – but they knew how to manage games much better and discovered a recipe for success quicker than us.”