Brian Clough got most of his decisions at Nottingham Forest right, but one trialist he rejected quickly came back to haunt him.
Clough never focused on Forest’s opponents; instead, he spent his time honing in on his squad, which spawned some interesting relationships between manager and player.
The Forest legend was clearly a strong presence in the lives of his players, with Roy Keane explaining that Clough helped him settle in Nottingham after his move over from Ireland at just 19 years old.
Some in the dressing room thought Clough gave Keane special treatment, but it mainly spoke to the strength of Clough’s character in how each relationship he had with his players was individual and unique.
Certainly, no favouritism was shown when Clough suggested that his own son Nigel should leave Forest, but that pales in comparison to how the iconic Reds boss once treated a trialist, who went on to get his revenge in the sweetest way.
Mark Hateley recalls being rejected by Brian Clough when on trial at Nottingham Forest
The Forest youth system spawned such stars as Des Walker and Mark Crossley as apprentices for Clough, but Mark Hateley couldn’t impress the Middlesborough-born manager despite going on to play for England.
Before playing for the likes of AC Milan and Monaco, Hateley was on trial at Forest, which he went into detail on when appearing on the Under the Cosh podcast.
Hateley said: “I did two preseasons at Nottingham Forest, the first one was really good and the second one was really good. The second one was the year I’d left school so it was all or nothing.
“I had good pre season, could run all day and I was always tall, I was six foot two, six foot three and could run for fun so pre season was never a problem for me.
“I got to play in a couple of bounce games, scored a couple of goals all that sort of stuff, then that day came to find out whether you’re going to get the apprenticeship. I knocked on the door and Brian Clough is sat right at the end of his big, long office.
“I looked at him as I walked in and he went: ‘Oh young man, young man, don’t bother sitting down, you’ll never make a f—— footballer, go and get yourself a job in the council.'”
Now it’s not a rare phenomenon that talented young players aren’t picked up, but Clough’s blunt decision is especially shocking given what Hateley went on to become. Luckily for the striker, though, he got to exact his revenge very soon after the rejection.
Mark Hateley got his revenge on Brian Clough with Coventry City
Not taking Clough’s council advice, Hateley continued to pursue a football career and quickly found his way to Coventry City, where he was able to face up against Forest and Clough in the same season as his unsuccessful trial.
He said: “In that November, I signed professional forms, straight onto professional forms and in that year, I got to play left wing against Nottingham Forest and I crossed the ball in for Mick Ferguson […] to score the winning goal against Forest
“So I ran all the way back up the touchline to stand in front of Brian Clough, who had not a clue who I was!”
Following his time at Coventry, Hateley had his most impressive spell at Rangers, where he won six Scottish Premiershop titles in a row in the 1990’s, whilst also boasting nine goals in 32 senior England appearances.
Potentially one that got away for Clough, then, a rare mistake in an otherwise glistening career as Forest manager.
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