Nigel Clough enjoyed some memorable moments in charge of Sheffield United - but he believes the achievement of keeping Burton Albion in the Championship eclipsed any of them.
While the Blades narrowly missed out on promotion in the League One play-offs in 2014/15, Albion boss Clough led the club to a Wembley FA Cup semi-final against Premier League Hull City in 2014, before they got to within three minutes of taking Tottenham Hotspur to extra-time in the League Cup semis a year later.
Two-and-a-half years after he and his management team were sacked from their roles at Bramall Lane, Clough is now preparing Burton for the visit of United tonight (7.45pm), with Chris Wilder's men going in search of a victory that would move them top of the Championship table.
Albion, meanwhile, are looking for their first back-to-back wins of the campaign as they aim to reenergise their second ever season at this level.
As for their first campaign in the second tier, the Burton boss knows just what a success it was to survive, even in comparison with the unlikely feat of taking a third-tier team to two major cup semis in as many years.
Asked which was better, Clough said: "Keeping Burton (in the Championship).
"As much as it was getting a League One club to the semi-finals, I think trying to keep this club in the Championship is a challenge beyond that.
"Just because of the size of the clubs and everything.
"But we had fantastic cup runs and enjoyed every single minute of it at Sheffield United - and I think the supporters did as well.
"We had some good times, and there's a lot of good people at the club as well - a lot of the staff are still there that we worked with as well, so it'll be nice to see them."
The Blades are now under the charge of former player Wilder, who oversaw their charge to the League One title last term and is now managing a side with genuine promotion credentials.
They are one of the surprise packages so far this season - and Clough believes that lack of pressure is helping his former side to thrive.
"They had had a rough season, and he (Wilder) just went in and said, 'right, we are just going to go for it',” added Clough.
"He had a poor start 18 months ago, and then he changed his formation, changed a couple of players and since that point, they've been almost unstoppable.
"And I think they've surprised a lot of people with how well they've done this season.
"I think everyone thought, once they got going last season, that they'd storm the league - but they've just continued it right on, with not too many changes.
"It's not a free season, nobody gets a free season, but as long as they didn't go down this season, he's able to say, 'come on, let's have a go, let's go and attack'.
"That seems to be what they're doing."
