'A ridiculously long wait - but trophy win would change everything'

Former Newcastle United captain and boyhood fan Alan Shearer explains what it would mean for the Magpies to end their long wait for a trophy in the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday.

You can watch the full interview on Football Focus on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online on Saturday from 11:00 GMT.

The wait for a major trophy for Newcastle United has been ridiculously long.

The last trophy for the club was in 1969, the old Fairs Cup, but the 1955 FA Cup was the last domestic success.

It is incredible for a club the size of Newcastle not to have won one since.

It is hard to take but it will happen one day - and hopefully Sunday will be that day.

The place will take off. I was part of the losing teams in the 1998 and 1999 FA Cup finals and we had to do a parade after the 1998 one, which was incredibly embarrassing. But even though we had lost, hundreds of thousands of Geordies still came out to line the streets.

Can you imagine what it would be like if Newcastle were to win this Carabao Cup final? The reaction from the Geordie public would be like nothing I have ever witnessed.

I know I am biased but if any set of fans deserves a trophy it is the Newcastle supporters because of their passion, their loyalty and how they have stuck by the team over the years.

Football is their life in Newcastle. You see nanas and grandads, mums, dads, girls, boys - whoever it is - walking around with their black-and-white tops on.

It is a working-class city, people are down to earth, and football means everything. They will be at Wembley in their thousands and everyone will be at home watching and praying.

Alan Shearer played for Newcastle in consecutive FA Cup final defeats in 1998 and 1999

'I will party as good as anyone if we win it'

I can only tell you how captaining Newcastle on a losing side in a final felt - and it hurt.

I can only imagine what it would be like for Bruno Guimaraes to lift the trophy. He would never forget the moment for the rest of his life.

The journey getting to a cup final is brilliant. You have to understand what it means to get there, but Wembley is only a place for winners. It is a horrible place when you have to walk off that pitch and you haven't won.

Newcastle sampled it a couple of years ago in this competition when they lost to Manchester United, so they have felt that hurt and won't want it again.

I have noticed a difference in their behaviour towards this final from the club and the team.

Two years ago it was "wow we are at Wembley and this is an amazing thing". But on this occasion they have tried to normalise it as much as possible. Everything they have been doing has been as normal as possible - and two years ago that wasn't the case.

I will be as nervous as any supporter. I am desperate, for me and my family, to win this, and for this club to win something in my lifetime.

I have been part of it as a fan, as a player, and I am going as a fan again on Sunday - and I will party as good as anyone if we win it.

'I want to see passion and fight'

I spoke to the players two years ago before their Wembley trip and that didn't work, so I wont be giving any advice this time.

It is not just about turning up to win it - you also need a little bit of luck in finals, so let's hope lady luck is shining on Newcastle.

You can win or lose a game before you even walk out, I really believe that.

While Newcastle have tried to keep things as normal as possible this week that wasn't the case in 2023 - maybe because of the pressure, or maybe because of people like me talking about it being 70 years without a domestic trophy.

It really is difficult to get away from that, but maybe it is the right choice to normalise things.

That said, winning on Sunday would change everything for Newcastle. Eddie Howe could choose where he wants his statue.

There have been so many great managers down the years who have tried to win a trophy at the club and not managed it.

I still speak to Bob Moncur, the last captain to lift a trophy back in 1969, and ending that long wait would be such a special thing.

No-one would ever be able to take that away from this group of players and coaching staff.

When the whistle goes, I want to see passion and fight. I want to see all the traits of Eddie and Newcastle over the years that have got them into this position.

Give it your best lads - and bring it back to Newcastle.

'I watched Jackie Milburn score from shop window'

BBC Sport also spoke to lifelong Newcastle fans Don, 97, and Alan, 84, about what winning a trophy would mean to them.

Don: "I first started watching football in 1945 and never missed a home match.

"It was through the glory years when we won the FA Cup three times in the 1950s, but I never got a ticket for the Wembley finals.

"You could watch the highlights at the local cinema. There were two sittings and if you were lucky you could see it twice.

"They paraded the cup when they came back to Newcastle and it was a joy to watch. It was crammed, absolutely crammed. It was a jolly occasion.

"I am 97 years of age, what a way to go out. Winning the cup would be really, really great.

"I have always said I wanted to die on the terraces when Newcastle were scoring the winning goal to win the Premier League.

"Newcastle has been a big part of my life. I will be up by at least 8.30am and pacing the floor, making sure my television is right. Just waiting anxiously for the start.

"It will be tearful if they lift the trophy. I haven't got much life left but what a way to go."

Alan: "In the 1950s, we didn't have many televisions but I did watch Jackie Milburn score on a television in a shop window in the 1955 FA Cup final.

"The big one for me was the 1969 Fairs Cup win. I remember going to most of the rounds.

"I went to the home leg of the final and we were all glued around the radio for the second leg because it wasn't even televised.

"Thousands of people lined along the streets when the trophy was brought home. It is something you dream about. Of course it is emotional."