Two-time Nottingham Forest European Cup winning captain John McGovern has paid tribute to former team-mate John Robertson.
Robertson, widely regarded as one of Forest’s greatest players, died aged 72 at Christmas and after the final game of the season the club conducted a naming ceremony to mark the Bridgford Stand being renamed the John Robertson Stand in his honour.
Asked how Robertson would react to having a stand named after him at the City Ground, McGovern told the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast: “Flabbergasted I would think!
“John was what you’d call one of the lads – the lads being a very good football team! He fitted in brilliantly and was the best player in that team.
“It was a marriage made in heaven. You had a team that wanted to play football managed by Peter Taylor and Brian Clough, which meant all the players would keep their feet on the ground.
“In John’s case there was no need for that, he would always keep his feet on the ground. Especially when he was running past full-backs which he did regularly at the time!
“He was the best player in our side, the most consistent, and we were just glad he didn’t get injured because it would be so difficult to replace him if he was out for a couple of weeks.”
Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
Explore all Nottingham Forest content on BBC Sounds