GARY BRAZIL FACTFILE

Born: Royal Tunbridge Wells, 1962 (Age 54) Playing career: A striker, Brazil joined Crystal Palace as a schoolboy but was released without playing a game and moved to Sheffield United, making his debut under Harry Haslam in 1980. In five seasons with the Blades, he scored ten goals in 78 matches and won promotion from the Fourth to the Second Division. After a six-game spell on loan at Port Vale, Brazil made a £25,000 switch to Preston in 1985. He was a huge favourite at Deepdale, where he won the 1986-87 player of the year award. His record of 72 goals in 202 matches puts him 13th in the Lilywhites’ all-time scorers list. Sold to Newcastle for £200,000 in 1988, Brazil started just eight times in 18 months as the Magpies slipped out of the top flight and moved to Fulham for £110,000 in 1990. Though relegated for the fourth time in his career, Brazil again showed glimpses of his old prowess with two 19-goal seasons before leaving in 1996. After spells at Cambridge, Barnet and Slough, he retired in 1998. Managerial career: Named assistant to former Preston team-mate Sam Allardyce at Notts County in 1998, Brazil had two brief spells as manager before joining Doncaster as a youth coach in 2004. He then left to take up a position as scholarship officer at the Premier League, inspecting the quality of top-flight academy set-ups. Brazil left this role in 2007 to join Fulham, where he spent four years as academy technical director. After a brief return to the Premier League, he joined Forest as academy manager in 2013. Brazil was appointed caretaker-manager for the second time on January 14.