After Neil Warnock's announcement of his retirement as a manager, we will now take a look at his spells as in charge of Torquay United and Plymouth Argyle.
Torquay United (1993):
In January 1993, Torquay United were fighting against relegation from the Football League and chairman Mike Bateson made the decision to appoint Neil Warnock as 'consultant' to work alongside rookie boss Paul Compton.
The Gulls' squad at that time included young hopefuls such as Darren Moore and Paul Trollope, who would go on to have good careers that would take them to the top-flight - but were still learning their trade at the time. However, Warnock did have some experienced heads to call on, including goalkeeper Kevin Blackwell, who would later serve as his assistant at numerous clubs, and he would bring in Don O'Riordan as player-coach from his former club Notts County.
Two months later, Warnock was appointed as caretaker manager of the Gulls and galvanised the club, as they successfully avoided relegation with a 1-0 win away to Carlisle United in the penultimate game of the campaign - courtesy of a Duane Darby effort. United then won his final game in charge at home to fellow strugglers Gillingham, who also beat the drop, before handing the managerial reins to O'Riordan, as he left Plainmoor to charge of Huddersfield Town. A year later, the Gulls would reach the Division Three Play-offs.
Warnock would later describe keeping United in the Football League as one of the highlights of his career.
Plymouth Argyle (1995-1997)
After leading Huddersfield Town to promotion to Division One - now Championship - in the 1994-95 season, Warnock returned to the South West to become manager of Plymouth Argyle. At the time of his arrival, the Pilgrims had just been relegated to Division Three - now League Two - for the first time in their history.
During 1994-95, Argyle had had three different managers - Peter Shilton, Steve McCall (caretaker) and Russell Osman (consultant) - and Warnock quickly set about rebuilding the squad that he had inherited. Only Mark Patterson, Martin Barlow and Mickey Evans remained from the previous campaign, as Warnock brought in a whole host of new faces, including Chris Billy, Ronnie Mauge, Adrian Littlejohn, Mick Heathcote and Steve Cherry.
The Pilgrims eventually missed out on promotion and had to settle for the Play-offs. They memorably defeated Colchester United 3-2 in the semi-finals over two legs to set up a final with Darlington.
In what was their first ever visit to Wembley, Argyle won 1-0, with Ronnie Mauge scoring the only goal of the game in front of a crowd of 43,431. It was Warnock's fifth promotion as a manager, and his fourth through the Play-offs - which remains a record. However, his relationship with chairman Dan McCauley turned sour and he was dismissed during the 196-97 season.
Warnock then went onto manage Oldham Athletic, Bury, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace (twice), QPR, Leeds United, Rotherham United, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough. Further promotions followed with Sheffield United, QPR and Cardiff City, which took the numbers of promotions he has won to eight - a record in English football.
