Sunderland-born manager clinches 'unbelievable' promotion after 22-year absence

Sunderland-born manager Nigel Clough has guided Mansfield Town to promotion from League Two.

Nigel Clough, the son of football legend Brian Clough, managed The Stags to 2-1 over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night to mathematically clinch promotion to League One for the first time in 22 years.

Nigel Clough was born in Sunderland whilst his father played for the Wearsiders in 1966. Brian Clough famously netted 54 goals in 61 games before injury cut short his career in the North East and forced him into the management game.

After the game, Nigel Clough said: “I feel hugely relieved to get it over the line tonight – I didn't want to it to go to Saturday or possibly the week after going to Barrow. I think the MK Dons result on Saturday gave us a huge incentive to get it done tonight.

“Now I want to win the last two games and finish the season with as many points as we can. I would rather finish second than third, which is where we are now at the moment. It's a professional thing.

“The season is not over yet. It is in terms of achieving our aim but we still have two games to play. So we will do everything we can to beat Gillingham on Saturday and then get something at Barrow the week after.”

Nigel Clough has managed Mansfield since 2020 after enjoying stints with Burton Albion twice, Derby County and Sheffield United during his coaching career. As a player, he played for England, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Burton Albion and Sheffield Wednesday.

On the celebrations sparked by Mansfield’s promotion, Nigel Clough said: “When you have been so close and finally achieve it, it takes a bit of time to sink in. It will take a few days. Everybody gets affected by it in different ways.

“But the main thing is we got promoted. It's taken us three years to achieve it, but we made it in the end. We have improved year on year in terms of the squad. This is by far the best squad and the most capable of dealing with the injuries that we have had – seven defenders could not start tonight.

“It is a special night and an unbelievable achievement for Mansfield to be playing in the league above for the first time in 22 years. It's taken three years and quite a bit of pain to get to this point. It doesn't matter what happened in previous seasons - we've done it in this one.

“This is for the thousands that were here tonight, some people have been supporting the club for 50-60 years – it's for them. They have seen some quite low times here over the years, so it's lovely they can enjoy tonight.

“It's taken three years and quite a bit of pain to get to this point. It doesn't matter what happened in previous seasons - we've done it in this one.

“This is for the thousands that were here tonight, some people have been supporting the club for 50-60 years – it's for them. They have seen some quite low times here over the years, so it's lovely they can enjoy tonight.”