[FREE READ] The 76-year-old European Cup-winning captain still training with Nottingham Forest

As the Nottingham Forest players file out of the main building and head towards the training pitches, a grey-haired figure is there to offer each one a friendly handshake and a word of encouragement.

He wears the same dark blue training gear as the rest of the coaching staff, as well as a matching coat to keep out the spring chill. He looks entirely comfortable in his surroundings. But then he is entirely accustomed to the environment.

“When the new signings come in for the first time, a lot of them ask the same question: who is the old guy?” midfielder Ryan Yates tells The Athletic.  “You have to explain to them that he is one of the biggest legends at the club. Then they get to know him and what he has done and they tend to be quite shocked, because he is such a humble character.”

John McGovern is the man who twice lifted the European Cup in 1979 and again in 1980; who captained the side under Brian Clough during the club’s most illustrious era. Now, at the age of 76, the former midfielder remains a familiar face at the Nigel Doughty Academy. In a season that has seen four different men take on the manager’s job, McGovern has been an almost daily presence on the training ground.