FOR Steve Thompson, there is one memory of Jimmy Sirrel that sums up the impact the Scotsman had on the club.

It is not a moment from Sirrel's remarkable tenure as manager, but from just a few years ago when Sirrel made an emotional return to Meadow Lane when the club's future was in peril.

"It wasn't just that he made us a success, it was that he cared so much about Notts County," said Thompson, the former club chairman and head of the Supporters' Trust.

"I cannot think of another manager who had retained such close links with the club after they had finished. He was a regular at matches whenever he was around and I will never forget his appearance before the Bury match a couple of years ago.

"There was a chance that we could have been relegated into non-league that day.

"And Jimmy went out onto the pitch to try and get a bit of support going.

"I don't recall exactly what he said, but the message he had was delivered with such passion, with such feeling that it made the whole day really."

He added; "I would not say that he was responsible for keeping Notts up that day, but there is no question he was a big factor in the afternoon.

"You could just tell that he really cared about the club, that he was desperate for them to stay up, and that said everything. I can't say whether it lifted the players, but it lifted the fans.

"And that was what gave him such a special place in the hearts of supporters, I think. It wasn't just that he did a job or that he made us a success, it was that he genuinely cared, he wanted the best for Notts County."

Like most Notts fans of a certain generation, Thompson harbours many happy memories of Sirrel's time in charge.

"I know whenever I hear the fans singing 'give us a wave' to any of the modern managers, I always find myself thinking of Jimmy," he said.

"He was the first manager I remember singing that to. If we were lucky, he'd extend a bony hand and give us a vague acknowledgement. That was Jimmy."