Football legend John Mcgovern auctioning his medals.

AUCTION : Championship winning medals to go under hammer

Scottish footballing legend John Mcgovern is selling his treasured Championship winning medals at auction – to help pay for his Christmas shopping.

The retired Montrose-born midfielder is most famous for captaining the Nottingham Forest side which twice won the European Cup.

Despite winning the top prize in club football twice he was never capped for his country because manager Ally Macleod didn’t know he was Scottish.

He is now selling his 1972 Division One winner’s medal in order to fund gifts for his friends and family this year.

The medal, which Mcgovern won with Derby County, will go under the hammer along with other prized memorabilia from his career with the Rams.

A Division Two winner’s medal from 1969, a Texaco Cup winner’s trophy and his kit from the 1971-72 are expected to fetch around £3,000 in total.

He has also put a Derby County ceramic ram celebrating their Division Two success on sale, along with a tie from the 1971-72 season.

Bidders in the online auction hosted by John Pye auctioneers have until midday on Thursday to secure the pieces.

Mr Mcgovern, 68, said that he was not desperate to sell the honours but wanted to have some more money in the run-up to Christmas.

He said: “There’s some important memorabilia there.

“People ask me why I’m selling them and I say listen ‘I don’t owe the bookmakers any money, I own my own house, I own my own car’.

“There’s no desperate reason to sell them but I’m just hoping to have a bit more money when it gets closer to Christmas.

“It was a great honour to play for Derby and win the medals.

“It’s just come to a time when I’ve moved from living in Sheffield for 20 years to moving to an apartment in Nottingham and the medals I don’t have on display anyway.

“I thought selling them would give me a few more quid at Christmas to do some shopping.”

However, he has refused to sell his most prized possessions – his two European Cup medals that he won with Forest in 1979 and 1980.

Pictures: SWNS. John Mcgovern is parting with prized pieces.