Stags boss Clough proud of recognition beyond football

Nigel Clough has said he was proud to emulate his late, great father Brian by receiving an honorary degree for his contributions to football.

The Mansfield Town manager and former England striker, whose most prolific years of his playing career were spent at Nottingham Forest under his father, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Nottingham Trent University (NTU).

It was in 1990 that Brian, who famously guided Forest to back-to-back European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980, received an honorary Master of Arts from Nottingham University.

"His was certainly deserving and we were extremely proud of him, and still are," Clough told BBC Radio Nottingham when talking about following his father in being given an honorary degree.

"You do a little soul searching about whether it's deserved or not, and that continues because there are an awful lot of worthwhile recipients.

"When I first heard (about the honorary degree) I wasn't sure if it was a wind-up or not, but once we sat down and discussed it with the family, they said it would be a lovely thing to accept and it is."

When Clough took the stage at NTU on Thursday in full academic dress, including gown, cape and Tudor bonnet, he quickly admitted he would have felt more comfortable "taking a penalty at Wembley in front of 100,000 people" than be stood in front of students, lecturers and professors.

While outside his comfort zone, he spoke passionately about his career and the different influences and roles he has had across 40 years in professional football – from being a player at Forest, Liverpool and Manchester City, to his 27 years in management with Burton Albion, Derby County, Sheffield United and now Mansfield.

Across two spells with Burton he guided the club to numerous promotions, the most famous of which was taking the former non-league side up to the Championship in 2016.

He oversaw remarkable cup runs with both Burton and Sheffield United - a club which was in League One when he took them to the FA Cup semi-finals in 2014.

In his five years at Mansfield, Clough has taken the club back to, and kept them in, the third tier of English football after two decades in lower divisions.

For all he has achieved, from League Cup trophies at Forest in his playing days to distinguishing himself as one of English football's most durable managers, the degree he was given by NTU was accepted as something special.

"It's nice to get something that isn't a promotion medal or nothing to do with football," he said.

"It's nice to be recognised outside of that."