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the
manager
WINTER 2011
game
every day was a joy not a burden but
the training was hard for me.
That first year was exciting in many
aspects because I scored on my début
and then a couple of weeks later I
scored at Old Trafford against George
Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law
but it was a big adjustment. This was
a time of amazing dreams for me
even though Nottingham Forest were
struggling that entire season. We got
relegated that season and the football
club as a whole was just trundling
along. John Robertson, Tony
Woodcock, Viv Anderson, Ian Bowyer
and I were waiting for a Messiah to
arrive... and he arrived in the shape of
Brian Clough.
You went on to great success
under your ‘Messiah’. Were you
conscious that you were playing
for one of the all-time greats?
We knew that we were having a
really good time and to me this was
what professional football was all
about. You had camaraderie within
the team, Brian Clough was one of
the greatest managers of all time but
you weren’t every single day in awe
of that fact. There were times when
he would produce something and
you’d think ‘yeah that is sensational’
and he would be very unorthodox
in his approach and you’d think
‘yeah that’s very bright, it’s very
simple, but it’s a great ploy’.
What managerial traits of Brian
Clough’s did you admire?
Not everything was always perfect and
rosy in the garden. He no
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