Brian Clough had already made his mark by the time he took over Second Division Nottingham Forest in 1975.
His time at Derby County had already yielded a league title in 1972, but by the end of the 1979-80 season, he had etched his name among the greats of management as he led Forest from the second tier all the way to a league title in 1978 and double European Cup-winning campaigns in 1979 and 1980.
That period in Forest and Clough's history has been charted in new documentary I Believe In Miracles and tonight on Off The Ball, Trevor Francis, the man who scored the winning goal in the '79 European Cup final joined Ger on the show to share his memories of a magical team and enchanting era for club and manager.
"I think he had this aura about him that nobody else had," he said of Clough, also describing his "charisma".
"I can't ever remember anyone like Brian Clough. He would walk in a room and he would turn heads. He was absolutely compelling viewing."
Trevor Francis of Nottingham Forest (l) heads the winning goal past Malmo goalkeeper Jan Moller (r) (Peter Robinson / EMPICS Sport)
Francis recalled his record £1M transfer from Birmingham City to Nottingham in 1979 with Forest on an upward trajectory, with players including his good friend Martin O'Neill and the Ireland manager's former assistant John Robertson.
"He was our best player," said Francis of Robertson,"At the time, he was probably the best player in Europe. Because of the fact that he was Scottish and not English, he didn't quite get the recognition that he merited but we knew how good he was. He was certainly Brian Clough's favourite player."
While Francis would ultimately prove to be the hero in the '79 European final, signing mid-season and registration rules meant the first continental game he was eligible for was the final against Malmo.
"Did I know the rules when I signed for Nottingham Forest that there was a possibility I could be making my European debut in the final? I think the answer to that is probably no," he said.
"Sadly the guy who missed out was Martin O'Neill, who never fails to mention it when we see one another. We have a lot of banter over this but it's friendly banter. I didn't know I was going to play until the day of the game."
He also explained how Clough's instructions played a part in his headed winning goal that night.
"I think Brian saw it as an opportunity to show the world just how good a manager he was and how good his teams could play," said Francis, who admitted that the way they played in the final did mean the dressing room was subdued despite winning.
While touching on modern day managers who could compare to Clough, Francis considered Mourinho but made one relevant distinction.
"The big difference between Clough and Mourinho is that Clough had huge, huge respect for officials and he always used to instill this into his players," he said.
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