Former Nottingham Forest European Cup winner Frank Clark has spoken out after watching Newcastle United's Carabao Cup final triumph over Liverpool.
The former City Ground boss has watched United endure a long wait for a significant trophy - a wait that concluded much to the relief of former player Clark. The 1969 Inter Cities Fairs Cup winner remarked that both he and his peers have eagerly anticipated successors at the club, with their wishes finally coming to fruition following Sunday's Carabao Cup final triumph.
Bob Moncur, who last led the Magpies to silverware until Bruno Guimaraes took over, has openly expressed his desire to relinquish the title; now Clark, with his near 13-year tenure at St James' Park, confesses his elation at witnessing a new chapter unfold.
The County Durham-born ex-player, now 81, recounted to PA news agency: "Absolutely. I had the same thing. People would say, 'It's better for you that they haven't won another trophy', but it wasn't like that at all. The longer it went on, the worse it got.
"When we won in 1969, we thought it might be us again in the next year or two, but it wasn't to be. But no, you never thought it would be so long until they won something again.
He added, "That's gone now and we've got something else to talk about."
The new Frank Clark autobiography
The new Frank Clark autobiography
A staple in both matches of the team's 1969 glory against Ujpesti Dozsa, Clark also lived through the 1974 FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool at Wembley. When asked if the latest 2-1 victory provided retribution for that loss, Clark responded: "I've never been one for revenge."
His reflections continued with gratification: "I was absolutely delighted. They played really well and thoroughly deserved to win. It's brilliant for the club, the fans and the city."
Newcastle United ended their 70-year drought for a major domestic trophy with their League Cup victory, marking a significant achievement in Eddie Howe's tenure as he aims to propel the club to the top tier of English football under Saudi ownership.
Clark, who has managerial experience with Leyton Orient, Forest, and Manchester City, commented on Newcastle's future prospects in terms of maintaining their squad. "You have to look at the club in total. Eddie himself has said this, they need to strengthen the squad if they can next season. I'm sure the owners want to do more, but obviously they're hamstrung a little bit by the PSR restrictions."
He emphasised the importance of retaining key talent following the Wembley win as crucial for the club's progress. "But they'll certainly need to strengthen and get more depth into the squad, and probably the most important thing is that they can hang on to their best players."
With Alexander Isak and Sandro Tonali contributing to the team's success, Clark highlighted the potential impact of the recent victory. "They've got some real top, top players in that team and winning yesterday will help them to hang on to them."