John McGovern

Former Scottish footballer John McGovern is best known for the time he spent as the captain of the esteemed Nottingham Forest. With a diverse history in the sport, spending time both on the pitch as a player and off the pitch as a manager, John is able to provide a unique insight into the sport. Having played for clubs such as Derby County, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest as well as being capped by the Scottish U23 national team, John continually claimed himself the approval of fans and press alike. John initially began playing football with Hartlepool United, signing a professional contract as an apprentice in 1966. Later in 1968, John transferred to Derby County, and it was here that he became the youngest player to play in all four divisions of Football League aged just 19. John continued to play impeccably ending his time with the team having played 227 games before transferring to Leeds United in 1974.

John only made four first-team appearances for Leeds before Brian Clough became the manager of Nottingham Forest and signed John to his new team. Here John was given the opportunity of team captaincy, seeing the club win the UEFA Super Cup, two Football League Cups, the Anglo-Scottish Cup and the FA Charity Shield. John was additionally key to the clubs promotion to the second division. Alongside his time playing for various clubs, John also had the chance to play for Scotland in the Under 23 league. He played for the league twice, both matches being against Wales during his time at Derby County. John’s last time as a player was when he took on the role of player-manager in 1982 for the Bolton Wanderers, where he remained until 1985. He then decided to retire as a player and turn his attention to the management of the sport.

After leaving Bolton Wanderers John spent time as assistant manager of both Chorley and Plymouth Argyle. He was later appointed as the joint manager at Rotherham United, where he spent two years and saw the team beat Shrewsbury Town in the 1996 Football League Trophy. After this John was selected to be the manager of Woking, had a small period as the assistant at Hull City and then joined Ilkeston Town in 2000. Recently John has turned his attention to punditry roles such as featuring on Radio Nottingham. He has also devoted his time to becoming an after-dinner speaker, imparting his knowledge and experience of the game to a wide variety of audiences. John was rewarded for his commitment to the sport in 2017 after he was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.