After his playing career he was assistant manager of
Sunderland from 1979 to 1982 and then became manager of
Leyton Orient. Although Orient were relegated to the Fourth Division in his second season as manager, he guided them to promotion as playoff winners in 1989 and became managing director of the club two years later, with
Peter Eustace being placed in charge of the first team. In May 1993, he returned to Nottingham Forest as manager, as a replacement for the retiring
Brian Clough. however Clark's name was submitted far earlier, and by the time of Clough's retirement his preference was his assistant
Ron Fenton. Clough's 18-year reign as Forest manager had ended in relegation from the new
FA Premier League in 1993, having brought a league title, two
European Cups, four
League Cups and several top five finishes, and Clark had to deal with the sale of two of Forest's key players –
Roy Keane and
Nigel Clough – for a combined total of more than £6million soon after his return to the
City Ground. However, he was able to hold onto the likes of
Stuart Pearce,
Steve Chettle,
Steve Stone and
Ian Woan, and took Forest back into the Premier League at the first time of asking, as they finished runners-up in Division One. He was also
Premier League Manager of the Month for September 1994, as Forest's fine start to the season saw them in the heat of a title challenge and hopes were high that Clark could take them to the rare distinction of top division title glory a season after promotion – just as his predecessor had done 17 years earlier. They eventually finished third in the table, and qualified for Europe for the first time in 11 years. Forest reached the UEFA Cup quarter finals in 1995–96 under Clark – the best run of any English side in European competitions that season, although their league form dipped and they finished ninth. Clark also struggled to find a suitable successor to striker
Stan Collymore, who was sold to
Liverpool for £8.5million in the summer of 1995. In December 1996, with Forest struggling at the bottom of the Premier League, Clark expressed his concern with the boardroom crisis at the club, with rival parties attempting to buy the club. His earlier success with the club had led to him being linked to the
England job when
Terry Venables announced his intention to resign less than a year earlier. Clark left the club in December. Clark made some shrewd signings as Forest manager, including
Stan Collymore and
Lars Bohinen. Collymore was sold to
Liverpool in June 1995 for a then British transfer fee record of £8.5 million, two years after joining Forest from
Southend United. However, Clark also made several disappointing signings during his final 18 months at the City Ground. The first of these was
Andrea Silenzi, who was signed as a replacement for Stan Collymore, becoming the first Italian player to appear in the Premier League, but failed to live up to expectations and had returned to Italy within two years.
Croatian defender
Nikola Jerkan, signed a year later, played just 14 games in Forest's 1996-97 relegation campaign, before being loaned out to
Rapid Vienna for a season and then returning to the
City Ground for a further season, without playing a single game, and finally being discarded by the club in the summer of 1999. Clark's final managerial appointment came at
Manchester City immediately after his departure from the City Ground. He arrived at
Maine Road seven months after City's relegation from the Premier League, with the club in danger of a second successive relegation. Clark steered them to 14th place in Division One that season, only for City's struggles to return in
1997–98. Clark was sacked in February 1998, and learnt the news of his dismissal as manager while listening to the local radio at home. Clark was faced with having to halt City's decline while the club was millions of pounds debt and needing to sell its highest-paid players, including a number of disappointing signings and players who were no longer commanding regular selection in the first team. He had paid a club record £3 million to bring 22-year-old striker
Lee Bradbury to City from
Portsmouth in July 1997, but the player failed to live up to expectations, struggling with injuries and inconsistent form, and was eventually sold to
Crystal Palace in October 1998. Clark's successor,
Joe Royle, was unable to save City from relegation, but then guided City to back-to-back promotions. ==Nottingham Forest chairman==