Keith Curle relishing going up against ex-Manchester City teammate as Hartlepool United face Mansfield Town

Curle takes Pools to the One Call Stadium still in search of their first league win of the campaign but face a difficult test up against Clough’s side.

The Stags hold one of the best home records in the EFL in 2022 and arrive having won three of their last four games in League Two.

Pools, on the other hand, are at the foot of the table after Curle’s first game in charge ended in stalemate against Gillingham.

But Curle insists he always likes going head-to-head with ‘respectful’ people, with Stags boss Clough very much part of that category in Curle’s eyes.

Curle and Clough played alongside each other during the 1995-1996 season at Manchester City, having also shared the England dressing room prior to their time at Maine Road with Curle admitting they are both ‘football people.’

“Nigel is an intelligent person, probably a misfit in certain circles when he first came to Man City because he was probably too intelligent for most of the changing room - we didn’t understand what he was talking about,” Curle joked to The Mail.

“But Nigel is a good person. Very respectful. He’s got a good understanding of the sport and a love and a passion for the sport and has a good history with his family name as well.

“He’s a proud person and likes his teams to win, but so do I.

“I like respectful people and I like competing against respectful people. I know I conduct myself in the right way.

“There’s all sorts of different characters that react on the sideline. Nigel is not one of those. He’ll try and get a decision his way, but so will I.

“There’ll be a handshake before and a handshake afterwards and we’ll go and have a chat and talk about football and life. We’re two football people.”

Curle’s time alongside Clough in the east-end of Manchester would be relatively short-lived after he completed a switch to Wolverhampton Wanderers before, eventually, he would end up at tonight’s opponents Mansfield.

The One Call Stadium remains a special place for Curle having both ended his playing career with the Stags and began his managerial career there - a managerial spell he remembers fondly for the play-off final in 2004.

“I had great memories there,” Curle confessed to his time at Mansfield.

“Probably the biggest memory is that we emptied Mansfield as a town because everybody went to the Millennium Stadium to watch the play-off final. It was a great day but we played against a very good team in Huddersfield at the time.

“I made some very good friends there and there are still some people there from when I was there. I always get a good welcome there” added Curle.

“They’re a good football club with a good manager, an experienced manager, and they’ve got people behind the scenes running the organisation with a good understanding of what’s required in League Two.

“They had a terrible start to the season last season but made the play-offs. This season they've had a lot better start and I think they’ll be a force in this division.”