Nottingham Forest's European Cup heroes attend 'I Believe in Miracles' world premiere in front of over 3,000 fans at City Ground

• Brian Clough's remarkable success at Nottingham Forest recognised in new film
• The late Clough spent 18 years at the club, and winning the First Division title and two European Cups
• Forest legends attend 'I Believe in Miracles' world premiere in Nottingham on Sunday night
• Over 3,000 fans also watched the premiere inside the City Ground with their heroes

By Ashley Clements for MailOnline

Published: 17:46 EST, 11 October 2015 | Updated: 04:09 EST, 12 October 2015

The famous European Cup winning Nottingham Forest side gathered at the City Ground on Sunday night to celebrate the world premiere of 'I Believe in Miracles'. 

The film tells the story of the unprecedented five-year period when legendary manager Brian Clough took Forest from a mid-table Division Two club to the old First Division title and two European Cup successes. 

'I Believe in Miracles' was aired for the first time via a large projector screen in front of the Forest heroes and around 3,000 lucky fans inside the City Ground.

(From left): Peter Shilton, Larry Lloyd, Colin Barrett, Viv Anderson, Garry Birtles, David Needham, Trevor Francis, Frank Clark, Archie Gemmill, Kenny Burns, Tony Woodcock, John Robertson, Ian Bowyer, John McGovern, John O'Hare and Gary Mills

The famous Nottingham Forest side pose behind the back-to-back European Cups they won in 1979 and 1980

'I Believe in Miracles' was created to document the success of legendary manager Brian Clough, who stayed at Forest for 18 years

Nottingham Forest squad for the 1978-79 season. (back row l-r) Peter Withe, David Needham, Viv Anderson, Colin Barrett, Kenny Burns, Tony Woodcock, Stuart Gray and Simon Worthington. (second from back row l-r) J. Carter (commercial manager), Jimmy Gordon (Coach), Liam O'Kane (coach), Garry Birtles, Colin Smith, Frank Clark, Ian Bowyer, Larry Lloyd, Chris Woods, Peter Shilton, John Robertson, Martin O'Neill, John McGovern, Stephen Cant, Gary Mills, Ronnie Fenton (Coach) and Brian Clough (manager). (second from front row l-r) Kenneth Smales (secretary), Derek Pavis, Fred Reacher, Harold Alcock, Stuart Dryden, Jack Levey, George Thorpe and F Pell. (front row l-r) Kevin Collins, Brian Kent, Ross Anderson, Geoff Lilley, Nigel Thrower, Kevin Barry, Steve Sutton, Ronnie Watson, Stephen Kendall, Donald Macleod, Colin Walsh, Stephen Burke and Paul Turner

The Forest legends in attendance included Peter Shilton, Viv Anderson, Archie Gemmill and ex-striker Trevor Francis, who scored the goal which won his side their first European Cup as they beat Malmo 1-0 in the 1979 final.

Ahead of the advanced screening, Francis spoke of his delight at being able to relive the team's brilliant achievements.

He told the Nottingham Post: 'To be a part of something that will hopefully be so well received is fantastic. I've not seen the film so I'm very much looking forward to it.

Former Nottingham Forest defender Kenny Burns shows he believes in miracles ahead of the screening on Sunday

Former Scotland international Archie Gemmill, who spent two years with Forest, was also in attendance at the City Ground

'To remember those days again with team-mates will be very nice.

'As the years pass, the achievement becomes even greater. Whenever I meet Forest fans, I say to them that they don't know how lucky they were to be there on those incredible occasions.

'They should treasure the memories. To get that recognition from a new audience, as well as those who were there, is tremendous.' 

The film particularly tracks Forest's 1979 European Cup triumph and the colourful exploits of the club's manager, and film-maker Jonny Owen has said of his creation: 'Everybody watches the film and says "I didn't want it to end, I wanted to see more."

'That's all you can ask for as a filmmaker.' 

Tony Woodcock (left) and John McGovern (right)pose for a photograph before viewing the premiere at the City Ground

Actress Vicky McClure (left) and 'I Believe in Miracles' film director Jonny Owen were all smiles beforehand

England international Viv Anderson made over 300 appearances for Nottingham Forest before signing for Arsenal in 1984

The new film has the support of Clough's family with Owen bringing in all of the 1979 European Cup winners for interviews and making a point of involving the families of Clough and his managerial partner Peter Taylor, who were given a private screening of the film.

Former central defender Kenny Burns, who played a vital role in Forest's European exploits, hopes the release of the film will be just the start of his old club's 150th anniversary celebrations. 

Speaking in his Nottingham Post column, Burns added: 'Being able to relive our glory days at Nottingham Forest was a joy and to share watching the finished article for the first time with so many fans was very special.

'And the great thing is, the premiere is really just the start of the latest celebration of our success under Brian Clough, hopefully it will go on as more people get to see it at the cinema.

'It's pretty overwhelming to hear some of the cinemas here in Nottingham are selling out of tickets for the film even before it's released tomorrow. I'm definitely going to see it again.'

The 'Miracle Men' line-up in front of the large screen which was displayed at the City Ground on Sunday night

Over 3,000 fans were in attendance at the famous stadium to watch the world premiere of the film 

Former Forest boss Clough holds the European Cup after winning it for the first time in 1978-79

Clough spent 18 years at Forest and won two successive European Cups as well as the Division One title and four League Cups

Forest's John Robertson (left), Ian Bowyer and Kenny Burns celebrate with the European Cup in Munich in 1979

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