For more than a decade, he and chairman Ben Robinson toiled tirelessly to transform the Brewers from part-time scrappers into the slick, model outfit they are today.
Nigel Clough built the foundations, put the club on the map. He cast aside the luxuries of a Premier League lifestyle for an earthy existence in a football backwater.
He even ignored the entreaties of dad Brian, who urged him to “get a move on” by ditching the Brewers.
Without him, Burton might not even be in the League, let alone dreaming of gracing its highest echelon.
Emulating that kind of impact will be difficult. Both Gary Rowett and Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink knew that, for all the stability and sense imbued by Robinson, a club like Burton can only fly so high.
Promotion from League One would be a miracle, staying out of it practically impossible. It may transpire that Clough has arrived at the apex of Burton’s wonderful rise.
Whatever happens between now and the next time Clough departs, nothing should tarnish his reputation. He’ll always be the man who made Burton great.
