won the fight to keep his place in the first team as he rediscovered his goalscoring touch and Mark Robins was now struggling to get into the team. In October 1990, McClair was involved in controversy when in reaction to a late challenge he repeatedly kicked Arsenal's Nigel Winterburn in the back as he lay prone on the ground, sparking a 21-man brawl. The two had a history, as Winterburn had been seen mocking McClair after his penalty miss in the FA Cup fifth round three seasons before, which earned the Arsenal player a lot of criticism. Manchester United had a point deducted for this episode, and Arsenal (who went on to be league champions that season) had two points docked. In 1991–92, McClair scored the only goal in the 1992 League Cup Final against Nottingham Forest at Wembley, though he missed out on a league title winner's medal as United's shortage of goals in the second half of the season cost them the championship, which was clinched by Leeds United. Alex Ferguson then made unsuccessful bids for strikers David Hirst and Alan Shearer, but in the end the new striker signed was Dion Dublin, who was bought as backup for McClair and Hughes. Having been the main striker for Manchester United during his first season, and then partnering Mark Hughes when the Welshman returned from Barcelona, McClair was switched to a central midfield role when Eric Cantona joined United in November 1992, the casualty of this position being the veteran Bryan Robson, who from this point onwards was mostly used as a substitute. When Roy Keane was signed the following summer, McClair's first team opportunities became increasingly limited. He did, however, manage another Cup Final appearance and another goal at Wembley, coming off the bench to score Manchester United's fourth goal as they beat Chelsea 4–0 in the 1994 FA Cup Final. He was rarely left out of the squad, often coming on as a substitute to play in midfield or attack. In 1993–94, the first season where he was no longer considered a first team regular, he appeared in 26 league games (though starting just 12 of them) and scored one goal, although he managed a total of six goals in all competitions from 38 appearances (19 starts, 19 as a substitute). He had a much more active campaign in 1994–95, playing in all but two of the