injury to club captain Alan Hansen meant that Whelan spent much of the 1988–89 season as captain of Liverpool, a role he relished as the club progressed to another challenge for a "double". Then the Hillsborough disaster happened, and Whelan played a key role in leading the team on and off the pitch in a difficult time. When Hansen recovered, Whelan maintained the captaincy for continuity purposes and it was he who lifted the FA Cup after a 3–2 win over derby rivals Everton. However, he missed the chance to do the same with the League title, with Arsenal taking the championship thanks to a last-minute goal from Michael Thomas on the final day of the season on goal difference. This meant that for the second year running Liverpool narrowly missed out on a unique second double. Liverpool won the League again in 1990 with Whelan playing a central role for much of the season, although he missed the last few games due to the first of several injuries which would severely hamper the rest of his Liverpool career. One of Whelan's more forgettable moments came that season, when in a match at Old Trafford, an unmarked Whelan chipped a backpass from 30 yards over goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar and into the net. To date, it is considered to be one of the most bizarre and comical own goals in top flight history. However, Liverpool still won the match 2–1. Whelan remained a first team regular the following season, until an injury sustained in February 1991 against Everton ruled him out for the rest of the campaign. For the rest of his Anfield career, Whelan was injured as often as he played. He missed much of the 1991–92 season with injury, although returned to score a crucial equaliser against Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-final, forcing a replay which Liverpool won on penalties. However, although he had recovered from another minor injury in time for the successful Cup final against Sunderland, he didn't feature, his place going to Jan Mølby. When Whelan was fit, manager Graeme Souness gave him plenty more first team opportunities in the new FA Premier League for the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, but it was a disappointing period for the club, as they finished sixth in the Premier League in 1993 and eighth in 1994. By this time, Graeme Souness had been replaced as manager by Roy