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“This badge is bigger than every manager,” Sean Dyche declared at his unveiling as the club's manager, sporting a training kit with his monogram. He then, corrected himself. Actually, there was one manager who was likely as big as the badge – everyone recognizes who that was.”} Then came, an impression of Brian Clough, a crack at that distinctive drawl. Lad, well done,’” he said, reminiscing about his three years as a youth player at the City Ground, the days he spent wandering down the river, with Del Boy, whizzing past him and his manager’s voice invariably within earshot.

Dyche shares a anecdote of how, as a youngster, he and a couple of mates looked after the manager's garden at his home in the area. “We were on £28.50 a week and he paid you a tenner to do his garden. So we really thought: ‘This is pretty good.’ He’d prepare food for you and make sure you were well looked after. It was rather enjoyable, not too much yard work.”

For Dyche, this moment has been a years in the planning. He resides in the area and has a affection for the team. In lately, he and his longstanding coach his deputy, who was part of the Nottingham Forest squad the last time they were in European competition, in 1995‑96, have sometimes visited the local coffee shop where club icons such as a former player, Colin Barrett and Garry Birtles gather every Thursday to discuss stories from past and present. He will have to give it a miss this time to prepare for the visit of Porto, unbeaten this season, in the European tournament on Thursday evening.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the club legends,” said the manager, who replaced Ange Postecoglou to become Forest’s latest head coach of the season. “They will give me a bit of ear-holing if I don’t do too well, so I must secure some games for them. Those fellows mean a lot to me. A great deal of supporters recognise the legacy of this club. I’ve got my own and now I’ve got a opportunity to reinvent my own history, I suppose, as coach.”

The new boss took the team training for the first time on this week, three days after his predecessor watched a three-nil at home loss by the London club that left the side in the Premier League relegation zone. Ryan Yates, who joined aged eight, admitted these are just the start but Dyche and his staff have eased some of the gloom.

His backroom team features another club icon in Steve Stone, as well as Billy Mercer and Tony Loughlan, who featured for the team. In my view a massive strength of this organization is fostering the connection between the supporters, squad and coach and, frankly, the recent period we lacked a positive feeling around here,” the captain stated. “The new manager and his assistants have brought that feeling of life and enthusiasm.”

Dyche emphasized he does not “know the team like the inside out” considering his latest experience at the club has been as an opposition boss, but he thinks he has a wider understanding of the place and demands. The guidelines have been laid. “I’ve let them wear light-colored footwear, for heaven's sake,” Dyche said. “I’ll have my ex-players criticizing me on messaging. But they’re not allowed to wear neck warmers or hats … I had to do a deal somewhere.”

The team have lost their past four fixtures and not won since the opening day. The coach said the proprietor, Evangelos Marinakis, understood the significance of stabilising things. He encountered the Greek billionaire in the European competition with Burnley, when his team were beaten in a qualifier against the Greek side in recent years. After the first leg he voiced frustration at club officials, including the owner, confronting the referees at half-time in Piraeus. We laughed about it,” he said.

Part of his appeal is his reputation for constructing sides with solid foundations, pertinent for a side without a clean sheet in 20 matches. People categorize me, I’m not bothered,” he said. I don't avoid behind what’s effective. It’s no point of pride to me. In the past people were saying: ‘Why do you depend on set pieces?’ Now they’re in vogue. Tight trousers, flared jeans, slim fits, bell-bottoms … my daughter hammers me for any jeans I wear. It seems on social media even I got some criticism for my trainers walking into practice [on Tuesday] … couldn’t believe that. Tom Ford [trainers] but, regardless, don’t like to bring it up it.”

Dyche is pleased that his formative years were at the club but thinks that should not mean he or his team are judged differently. No easy path with the supporters, but we do care, that’s a point I don’t think can ever be doubted,” he said. “All I dreamt of was wearing the jersey, but I didn't manage to achieve it. Stoney and Woany succeeded, Billy Mercer played as a loan keeper, Tony wore it and scored a strike. I was the only one who failed to and they keep reminding me of that.

“For me to have that part of it is a big thing for me individually. But it doesn’t give me a divine right, believe me. The supporters want me to succeed. If I’m not winning, the fans are going to criticize me because how fans work and I’ve got no issue with that because it's the truth. I was here as a kid and never wore the shirt, the emblem. Well, now, I’m here with it wearing it.”