Nigel Clough was appointed as Manager of Derby County Football Club in early January 2009.
Nigel's managerial record at Burton Albion had been one of continued progress year-on-year over a decade-long period, one of the qualities that prompted Derby's Board to appoint him as Paul Jewell's successor.
As a player he was a stylish forward with an eye for goal.
Born in Sunderland, Clough joined Nottingham Forest as a player upon leaving school in 1982 and progressed to become a key player for the Reds by the end of the decade.
He helped Forest win the League Cup in 1989 and 1990, played in the 1991 FA Cup final and the 1992 League Cup final, and moved to Liverpool in 1993 for £2.75m.
Fourteen England caps had come his way while at the City Ground and he added more than 40 club appearances on Merseyside having settled in to a midfield role.
Manchester City paid £1.5m for his services in the summer of 1996 and he later rejoined Forest for a short spell on loan, and was briefly at Sheffield Wednesday the following season.
Ironically, his last appearance in a professional game came when Derby triumphed 5-2 at Hillsborough in September 1997.
A little over a year later he accepted the role of player-manager at non-league Burton Albion - in October 1998 - beginning the decade-long journey that brought him to Pride Park Stadium.
There began a record of success unmatched in the Brewers' history.
Burton improved their position in each of Clough's early seasons before ultimately taking the club into the Conference, the top level of non-league football, in 2002.
Three years of continued progress followed at Eton Park ahead of the move to the brand-new Pirelli Stadium in the summer of 2005.
Manchester United came down for the official opening of the stadium that winter and were seen off 3-1 on a memorable night - then came back for competitive action the following January in the third round of the FA Cup.
They held their star-studded visitors to a thrilling 0-0 draw, despite the second-half introductions of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, before losing the replay 5-0 in front of over 53,000 fans at Old Trafford.
Burton just missed out on a place in the Conference play-offs in 2007 but 12 months later they reached the semi-finals, where they were edged out by Cambridge United over two legs.
But in 2008/09 they made yet more progress with a mixture of flowing football and the ability to pull a result out of the bag when it mattered.
Clough's Burton went on an 11-game winning streak to open up a 13-point lead at the top of the table and put themselves in pole position to claim a place in the Football League for the first time, and despite a late wobble after his departure they claimed their place in the Football League on the final day of the season at Torquay United.
