‘SPIRIT OF CLOUGHIE IS WITH US’

TOM HOPKINSON

BY

STEVE COOPER knows the spirit of Brian Clough will be with him and his Nottingham Forest stars at Wembley today as they walk out for their £170million Championship Play-off Final showdown with Huddersfield. Good times have been few and far between at the City Ground since those halcyon days when Old Big ’Ead ruled the roost.

In fact, Cloughie was still at the helm when they made their last visit to the national stadium 30 years ago to contest the League Cup final against Manchester United.

The legendary manager left the club a year later in 1993 and, six years on, they played their last Premier

League fixture.

Cooper (right) hopes today’s clash will end a two-decade-plus wait for supporters to see top-flight football again on the banks of the River Trent.

He said: “Brian Clough’s legacy and memory and history won’t just be with us for this game — it’s here every day.

“It should always be. We will take all of that with us down to Wembley and be as unified as possible, the present and the history together, and try to win a really important football game.”

The defining years of Clough’s time at Forest will always be that golden era between 1976 and 1980 when he took them from Division Two to Division One and – after being crowned English champions in their first season back in the top flight – to two successive European Cup triumphs.

Cooper added: “We know about the history and this club is built on eras like that – we embrace it and we’re proud to represent it.

“But at the same time we’re trying to create a new history and era, and a positive next chapter.”