Opinion: Why Nigel Clough's record-breaking journey is one Mansfield Town fans will cherish forever

That was my immediate reaction to when Nigel Clough was confirmed as Mansfield Town’s new manager back in November 2020.

It felt like a perfect fit at the time with Stags getting a manager who had vast experience of doing the business in the EFL and a man who had been nothing short of a miracle worker during his time at Burton.

There were no guarantees that he would bring success to the One Call of course with Nigel taking charge of a struggling club who had lost their direction under John Dempster and Graham Coughlan.

He immediately set about using his vision, leadership and abilities to drag a club sitting 22nd in League Two up to the heights expected by owners John and Carolyn Radford.

The Radfords probably couldn’t have imagined just how well their decision to stick their faith in Nigel would go or that he would still be the man they look to six years down the line.

It’s been an amazing journey and one that is full of memories, both good and bad. It’s hard to forget the disappointment we felt after the play-off defeat against Port Vale or the long trek back home from Colchester in May 2023 when Stags missed out on a play-off place by a single goal.

On the flip side, who is ever going to forget the stunning 9-2 drubbing of Harrogate Town which saw Stags equal the club's all-time record league win from 1932? Everyone who was there will also rightly cherish the victory over Accrington on 16 April 2024 which saw Stags exorcise the ghost of MK Dons and finally bag promotion after 11 seasons in League Two.

It’s hard to pick a favourite memory from Nigel’s tenure with so many different games meaning different things to different people and I can’t help wondering which game Clough would choose.

However one game that everyone is going to remember for decades to come is last night’s trip to AFC Wimbledon where Nigel deservedly wrote himself into club history.

The trip to south London saw Nigel clock up a magnificent 275 league games in charge of Stags, eclipsing the 274 game tally of the iconic Ian Greaves in the process.

Clocking up a spell of such length in modern day football is no mean feat. Nigel is actually now the second longest-serving manager in the Premier League and EFL, based on days in charge, with only Mikel Arteta drawing his manager’s salary for longer.

Phill Parkinson (Wrexham), Andy Woodman (Bromley) and Dean Brennan (Barnet) are doing their best to keep pace but Nigel really is in a league of his own.

It’s not quite Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson levels but it really is hard to imagine anyone else steering the Mansfield Town ship.

To last so long you have to have more about you than getting some decent results on the pitch and Nigel’s close working relationship, and friendship, with the Radfords is testament to that.

While promotion from League Two under Nigel certainly felt like Mansfield's destiny, it was an eventually successful mission that took an awful lot of hard work to achieve with set-backs along the way.

They were set-backs that may have cost the manager their job at other clubs. In fact, the two home defeats to Leyton Orient and Harrogate Town in April 2023, which saw the promotion dream fade, has some parallels to the promotion collapse which cost David Flitcroft his job.

Nigel has always had what it takes to get the job done though and keep progressing the club, on and off the field. The Radfords knew they had the right man to come good and the rest, as they say, is history,

Off the field, Nigel is professional and great to deal with for the media but, far more importantly, he’s a really top bloke who is adored by the fans for his easy to approach likeability. A man who always has time for people and time to pose for pictures and a person who is an amazing ambassador for Mansfield Town.

Congratulations NIgel on your amazing achievement. Long may your reign continue