Southall believes David Moyes’s side is equipped to beat hot-favourites Manchester United, but for Everton to pull off an upset a number of factors will have to be on their side.

“The referee on the day will need to be strong,” he said.

“He could certainly have an impact. If he lets tackles go, lets the game flow then Everton will have a chance.

“But if he’s awarding free-kicks every time that Cristiano Ronaldo falls over then Everton could have a problem.

“But I honestly fancy Everton to win it. Hopefully United will have had a gruelling match in Porto and have picked up a few knocks.”

Southall stepped out under the famous Twin Towers on more than a dozen occasions – on occasions ranging from FA Cup finals to Football League centenary tournaments, Zenith Data Systems Cup finals to Charity Shields.

But he admits that his farewell cup final appearance under the Twin Towers in 1995 was probably the pick.

“I won the FA Cup twice at Wembley,” he explained.

“In 1984 and 1995 and they were very different occasions. In 1984 we’d been to the Milk Cup final just a couple of months earlier which was a magnificent occasion rather than a great match, but because we lost the replay we went back in the FA Cup final desperate to win.

“That spurred us on and even though we were still naive in terms of big-match experiences we knew we had to win.

“That was great, but 1995 was probably my favourite time, because I knew it would probably be my last visit.

“My age and my circumstances at the time at Everton meant I knew it would almost certainly be my last time, and to win made it all the more memorable.”

After the match Southall famously drove home rather than stay for the traditional celebratory banquet.

“Once you’ve seen one jock in a skirt you’ve seen them all,” he quipped, referring to Duncan Ferguson’s kilted celebrations.

“Everyone has their own way of relaxing and their own way of celebrating. I wanted to do what I wanted to do, which was to go home and celebrate. I still enjoyed myself though.”

Not all Southall’s Wembley visits are fondly remembered, though.