Speaking on the latest episode of Old Gold Club: Big Match Revisited, the midfielder felt he had to try harder throughout the rest of the march after his stray pass was put into the back of the net by Charlie Taylor, and McDonald played an influential role in getting Wolves back on level terms, before eventually claiming the win.
The Scot joins other key players who played for Wolves that day, including Carl Ikeme, Nouha Dicko and Dave Edwards, who will be joining Mikey Burrows and Chris Iwelumo to relive that game on the fourth edition of Big Match Revisited at 8pm on Monday on Wolves’ official YouTube channel.
On being at fault for Leeds’ opener
“When I was asked to come on and talk about this I had to go back and look at the highlights because I was sure it was a game where I had an absolute beast.
“But after 15 seconds of watching the clip on YouTube, I thought ‘s***, here we go’! Seeing ‘big Kemes’ [Carl Ikeme] stamping the ground in the goal, and he had to do it again later on for Danny [Batth].
“The whole of England could hear Kemes shout [at him following the goal], I think my mum and dad up in Scotland could hear him!
“I can’t remember their third goal, but I remember bouncing the ball off ‘Stears’ [Richard Stearman] for their first one, and I remember Danny’s own goal, but I can’t remember the third one. I’m sure it was another mistake from somewhere.”
On trying harder more after a set-back
“You’ve got to when you’re under a bit of pressure. Obviously, the crowd got on you early doors there [at Molineux] and you’ve just got to react, but at the same time, you’ve got to take it upon yourself.
“I think that’s maybe what I tried – tried a little bit harder – but that can sometimes go both ways and you can end up having a complete nightmare.
“Fortunately enough, we got back into the game, we settled down and I settled down myself, and after that it was alright from there.”
On letting Leeds get back into the game
“We started quite sloppy, like I think we did in a few games back then, but once we let them get one goal back, the momentum swung to them; the fans start to turn a little bit and it can be an uphill battle.
“Fortunately we scored late on and that was it.”
On balancing being a joker and a professional
“I’ve always been like that. When you go across that white line, you do go into match mode, that’s just a natural thing that happens, but for a manager or for a captain, at times I am probably very frustrating – it’s still the same now.
“But if you’re performing on the pitch, then you’ve got a right to continue to be that way. If you’re having a nightmare on the pitch and still joking around – that’s when you’re a problem.
“Well, I think so anyway. People might think I’m a d*******!”
On his centre-midfield bond with Jack Price
“The thing was that Pricey was much more defensive, but the one thing we had in common was the fact that we both wanted to play football. We both wanted the ball at all times.
“We didn’t want to play the ball long, we would pass it between us and made a real connection on the pitch, which gave us a core to our team to allow us to dominate games.
“Me and Pricey played a big part in that because we understood each other so well; on the pitch and off the pitch because we got on really well. Even though he’s over the pond now, I still look out for him all the time and a friendship that will go on for years.
“Pricey lived in Shrewsbury his entire life and the furthest he would ever go was Bridgnorth to see his mates! After we left Wolves, I would try to get him to go out in Birmingham every single weekend, but I lost contact with him for six months and the next time I hear from him he’s in Colorado!”
On the comradery of the squad
“It was great fun. There wasn’t cliques and that, but everyone went out at different places, Me and Pricey would go places, Danny Batth, Stears and those would go out with their missus’, but you wouldn’t be afraid to all get together as a group and have a night out together.
“We would have our different groups, but when we all got together it was fantastic.”
The fourth edition of the must-see 90-minute Old Gold Club: Big Match Revisited premieres at 8pm on Monday on Wolves’ YouTube channel, before being available in the archive at tv.wolves.co.uk.
Big Match Revisited will be powered by Blyth Group, an industry-leading construction company driving investment and infrastructure across the UK.
