Nigel Clough has been confirmed as the new manager of Sheffield United. Whatever your opinion on whether or not he should have been sacked as manager of our beloved club — I doubt many Derby fans, at the very least, will not wish him the best of luck.
For those of us who believed the son of God was harshly treated after the good work he did for DCFC, it is some consolation to know that he has moved on quickly and his achievements found him back in a management role so swiftly.
The pain of his departure from Derby was obviously still fresh in his mind when speaking to the media:
‘We had given nearly five years of hard work. We didn’t have a rough time and felt a young team were playing great football. All the noises were quite positive and we didn’t have much of an inkling. To be told, all of a sudden, that you are not good enough surprises you."
"I was disappointed and there was an element of anger there as well but we have to put that behind us."
"I’m going to have to concentrate on not dwelling on it. I could have wallowed, waiting for a bigger job, but you get knocked down and you get back up and get on with it. Certainly I feel we can use what happened as additional motivation."
At 47-years-old, Nigel is still young in management terms and getting back on the horse so quickly is probably a good move. He will have learned from his experiences, successes and mistakes at Derby and with decent financial backing, may be able to help Sheffield United climb out of the mess they are currently in, having now dropped to the lower reaches of League One.
Sheffield United Co-Chairman Kevin McCabe was glowing when announcing the appointment of the clubs new manager:
"Nigel has tremendous pedigree in the game. He brings undoubted experience and can provide stability, energy and confidence to the playing side drawing on his 11 years at Burton Albion followed by over four and a half years with Derby County in the Championship."
Following the news of Nigel's new job - Derby County also released the following statement on the official site:
"Derby County can this afternoon confirm that Andy Garner, Gary Crosby, Johnny Metgod, Martin Taylor and Simon Clough have left their positions at the club, following a period of time on gardening leave. The Club would like to take this opportunity to wish each individual the best in their future careers."
One can only assume the garden is now well and truly tended with Gary Crosby and Andy Garner downing their shovels to join Nigel immediately, as is his brother Simon as a scout. Though Clough did hint that others may follow - depending on what he requires once he has had time to settle in.
Sheffield United has reached the play-offs in the last two seasons but currently they sit in the relegation zone. Nigel’s first mission will be to get them clear of danger…. hmm that sounds familiar. With one victory in 13 matches Nigel has a job ahead of him but plenty of time to do it.
The news means all parties have officially moved on and perhaps it will turn out to be for the best for all involved. As they say 'a change is as good as a holiday'.... which for Nigel is good, after over 15 years continuous management, he probably bloody needs one!
Nigel’s first game in charge will be on Saturday against Crewe Alexandra and I for one will be watching the progress of United from now on. I won’t go as far as saying I have a new second favourite team but I will always genuinely hope Cloughie Jnr. Will find success as a manager wherever he lands.
That is unless he ends up at a certain club just down the road..., could any of us cope with a case of history repeating? Brian’s second job was also at Derby and we know what happened from there. If Brian is keeping an eye on his son, ol’ big head may yet still have the last laugh on us all!
Good luck Nigel - from those of us who were sad to see you go.