BRIAN Clough always dreamed of being England manager but the legendary Derby County boss was denied the opportunity by the FA despite being the people's choice.

Cloughie took the Rams from Second Division obscurity to the League Championship and became a household name with his forthright views.

But, despite being interviewed for the England job, he was never allowed the chance to try to emulate Alf Ramsey's feat of winning the World Cup and, instead, the 1970s proved a low point for the national side.

With South Africa 2010 looming, Cloughie's friends are staging another football show dedicated to his memory, this time with a World Cup theme.

Having staged the nostalgic football show Brian Clough's Way in Derby and Nottingham last year, former England and Nottingham Forest pair Tony Woodcock and Garry Birtles are back with a sequel.

Cloughie Returns: Brian Clough's World Cup Show can be see at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, in April.

Tony says: "When we did the first show it was because we'd really had enough of everyone speaking about the old days and Brian without ever having met him.

"All the stories were being mixed together and a film was coming out. We thought 'let's get something together where the truth comes out'. So we did the show and it was a fantastic success. We sold out in Nottingham and Derby. The feedback was that people wanted more."

Now Tony is planning a trilogy of Cloughie shows.

Notts-born prodigies of Clough, Woodcock and Birtles are joined on stage by Manchester United legend Norman Whiteside – the youngest player to appear in the World Cup finals – and 1966 World Cup winner Jack Charlton.

Brian Clough will again be played by actor Colin Tarrant and Radio Five presenter Pat Murphy will co-ordinate the evening.

"It has an international slant," says Tony. "Jack is a 1966 legend and very close to Leeds United so that should provide a bit of banter. Norman's is an interesting story and he's a great character.

"Me and Garry played against each other in youth football, went to Nottingham Forest and ended up playing for England.

"Colin will give Cloughie's side of it.

"Every time you talk about England his name comes up. Could he have adapted to the England job with all the other outside issues you get? When he went for the job he thought he had a good chance of getting it and got the interview. We will be touching on all of that with Colin who will be remembering what the interview was like and why he didn't get it. You could do a week-long show with all that can come out of that.

"In the second half we will talk about modern-day issues. People ask us questions like 'is all the fun going out of football?'

"The audiences loved it last year. We had a good time, too, so we want to share that again. It will be a lot of fun and a great footballing occasion.

CLOUGHIE RETURNS: BRIAN CLOUGH'S WORLD CUP SHOW

WHERE: Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.

WHEN: Thursday, April 29, at 7.30pm

TICKETS: £23.50, available on 0115 989 5555.