ASA HARTFORD

Man City and Scotland legend reveals all

Best manager you played for?

I ONLY played for Brian Clough three times at Forest but he was brilliant. Some managers can talk for 15 minutes at half-time and say nothing. Cloughie would spot a problem and hit the nail on the head.

Best player you played with?

DENIS LAW. He was my hero as a kid and I was lucky to play with him for Scotland towards the end of his career and the beginning of mine. Still electric in the box even then.

Best player you played against?

I FACED a teenage Diego Maradona at Hampden in 1979 (pictured above). He had this raw, natural ability, coupled with strength and pace. He was just unplayable. You’d have needed a sledgehammer to knock him off the ball.

Turning point in your career?

BEFORE my transfer from West Brom to Leeds fell through because I failed the medical, Don Revie told me: “You’re in the team on Saturday.” That Leeds team picked itself. I never played for Don but those words gave me huge confidence.

Best goal you scored?

FOR West Brom against Southampton at The Hawthorns. Jeff Astle knocked the ball down and I caught it on the half-volley. It was such a sweet contact I hardly felt a thing.

Biggest achievement in your career?

I CAPTAINED Scotland four times, including a World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland in 1981. It was an awful game but we got the draw we needed. I can always say I skippered my country to a World Cup.

Biggest influence on your career?

STUART WILLIAMS, my youth team coach at Albion. He’d bring me back in the afternoons to work on my sharpness and would have me training in running spikes.

Most memorable game?

WE beat rivals United 4-0 in a League Cup tie in 1975. I played in about 15 Manchester derbies and only finished on the winning side twice. I scored and was right in the zone that night. But it was also memorable for the injury that effectively finished Colin Bell’s career.

Best story about a team-mate?

MIKE SUMMERBEE was taking a corner at Goodison Park and the Everton fans were giving him stick, calling him “Pinocchio” because of the size of his nose. So Mike blew it on the corner flag. That riled them even more.

Secret about you?

MANY might not know that I’m scouting for Norwich City these days. Away from football, I’m a keen gardener.

ASA HARTFORD played 50 times for Scotland and appeared at two World Cups. He was famously involved in a hole-in-the-heart scare that scuppered his transfer from West Brom to Leeds but he went on to play 744 club games, notably for Manchester City and...