Brian Clough’s legendary spell at Nottingham Forest has spawned plenty of stories about his methods, with one aspect of his managerial approach particularly unique.
Roy Keane credited Clough for helping him settle at Forest, which only emphasises how highly thought of he is from within the dressing room as well as from Reds fans.
Delivering the First Division title as well as the iconic consecutive European Cup wins, Jamie Carragher ranked Clough’s achievements as Britain’s best as his reputation remains immaculately intact 20 years after his passing.
So strong is his standing in the game that current Premier League managers such as Ange Postecoglu hailed Clough’s work, clearly showing he is not just a Forest Legend but a legend of the sport as a whole.
With his status, it can be expected that he had some unique methods of managing Forest, with one ex-player in particular once pointing out a unique style that Clough used to help the Reds win the 1979 European Cup.
Trevor Francis once praised ‘positive’ Brian Clough management in European Cup victory
Holding an individual piece of Forest history, Trevor Francis scored the goal that secured the 1979 European Cup for the club against Malmo.
His impact on the game as a whole was remembered so fondly that legends such as Gary Lineker and Stan Collymore posted tributes to Francis when he passed away.
In his retirement, though, Francis recalled a memory of the iconic European Cup moment that showed the excellence of his manager.
Francis said: “We knew they [Malmo] were from Sweden, and that was about it! I don’t say that flippantly. At Nottingham Forest, we never really discussed the opposition, regardless of who they were. In fact, in my time there, we only ever discussed two players that I can remember.
“One was a brilliant midfield player for Arsenal called Liam Brady, and the other one was a Dutch defender called Rudy Kroll, who was another wonderful talent.
“Apart from that, everything was about ourselves, everything was positive from Brian Clough, there was never any negativity and he only discussed how we were going to play.”
Rather than overlooking the Swedish giants or hyperfixating on their strengths, Clough had his Forest squad so attuned to their own strengths that the confidence must’ve been flowing through Francis and his teammates.
Francis went on to discuss just how Clough prepared them on the day itself, again highlighting the genius of the Middlesbrough-born manager.
Trevor Francis on how Brian Clough prepared his side for the European Cup final
Played at the Olimpiastadion in Munich, the Forest squad must’ve been in awe at how far they’d come to be gearing up to play for the biggest prize in European football in front of 68,000 people.
However nerve-racking this was, Francis revealed that Clough did everything he could to normalise the situation.
“We didn’t train on the day. We went down to the Olympic Stadium to look around on the morning of the game and that’s when he sat us down on the running track and told us the 11 starters.
“We went back to the team hotel, had lunch and then rested. Then we got down to the stadium an hour before the kick-off. That was done purposely of course, not to get us there too early as he didn’t want us losing our focus.
“He wanted us firmly focused on what was ahead because obviously, for him, it was all about work, and that’s how it should be.”
Both are absolute legends at the City Ground, but hearing how well-thought-out that day in 1979 was by Clough just highlights how crucial he was to the success of the team that day, even if it was Francis who headed home the winning goal.
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