Nigel Clough has hinted that he would be interested in a return to former club Nottingham Forest.

The 49-year-old, who spent a combined 10 years at the City Ground as a player, has been out of work since being axed as Sheffield United boss in May.

Despite his managerial connections to Derby County, Clough is keen to follow in father Brian's footsteps in taking charge of both Nottingham rivals.

Asked about potentially replacing under-fire boss Dougie Freedman, he is quoted by The Mirror as saying: "I think when you have been associated with the club for that amount of time you have always got a soft spot for them.

"I think every manager accepts when you are bottom of the league, or towards the bottom of the league and can't win games, then there's a time when you're going to lose your job.

"That wasn't the case in either of Derby and Sheffield United, that's what makes it disappointing. It certainly wasn't the case at Sheffield because we went from third from bottom to seventh, fifth and two semi-finals. So if that's failure, good luck to everybody else."

Clough has also been tipped with replacing Queens Park Rangers-bound Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Burton Albion, having previously spent 11 years with the Brewers.