On the pitch, meanwhile, having spent three seasons at Newcastle, Hislop had dropped down the pecking order at St. James’ Park following the arrival of Irishman Shay Given and needed to get his career back on track.
And when he was contacted by then-West Ham manager Harry Redknapp to ask whether he might be willing to join the Club, he jumped at the opportunity, and he subsequently enjoyed two spells in east London between 1998 and 2006. He won the coveted Hammer of the Year Award in his first season at the Boleyn Ground, as we finished fifth in the Premier League table.
Hislop says he looks back fondly at his spells in Claret and Blue, which produced some real highs and some agonising lows.
“I'd been out of favour at Newcastle, then got a decent run in the first team, and then Kenny Dalglish came to me and said to me that if I didn't sign a new contract that they'd offered, he would put Shay back in,” Hislop continued.
“But I had already made my mind up that it was time for me to leave. So despite a decent run of games in my final season at Newcastle, I thought I needed a fresh start somewhere else, and through Les Sealey, West Ham reached out and asked if I'd be willing to come down, and I jumped at the opportunity. I thought that would be good for me, and that's exactly how it proved.
“My first season couldn’t have gone much better. Things went so well, and there was a real buzz about the Club at the time. We signed the likes of Ian Wright, and there were so many big-name signings. I remember our first game of the season was away to Sheffield Wednesday. We won 1-0, and Wright scored.
“Our second game was at home to Manchester United. And again, this is 1998, right after the 1998 World Cup and the [David] Beckham-[Diego] Simeone incident. When that version of Manchester United came to town, it was always a big game, a big day, and what happened in the 1998 FIFA World Cup just added some spice to that.
“We drew 0-0. Here I am, keeping two clean sheets in my first two games. We were playing good football, and the fans were excited about what was to come, and that momentum from those opening two games, I think, put us in a very good state for the rest of the season.
“There were just so many talented players that I played with at West Ham, and they've gone on to have some brilliant careers. There was this really exciting balance of experience and youth coming through.
“We had the likes of Davor Šuker, who played with Real Madrid, Steve Lomas and Marc-Vivien Foé, and then you had young players coming through in Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard. It was just such a talented squad.
“We had a really good spirit about us. It was a fantastic dressing room to be a part of, full of fun, full of life. It really was a great time to be at West Ham.”