Former Derby County defender David Langan has opened up about leaving the Rams to join Birmingham City in 1980. 

Having joined the East Midlands club as a 16-year-old under Brian Clough, the right-back made more than 150 appearances in the late 1970s.

He became a regular in the Rams starting XI and picked up the player of the season award in 1977/78, a campaign in which the Irishman featured in all of the clubs league and cup games.

Langan would also make the first of his 28 appearances for the Republic of Ireland during his time with the East Midlands club.

However, when Derby were relegated from the First Division in 1980, an offer came in from the Blues that was a club-record at the time.

In an interview on the club website, the defender opened up on leaving the Rams – revealing it was a decision he felt he had to make.

He said: "I didn’t really want to go. Colin Addison pulled me into the office and said that, after getting an approach for Birmingham, I could go and talk to them. I loved playing at Derby, but it was time to go.

“Jim Smith was in charge at Birmingham and I had a great time there. I also had 18 months out due to injury and I was let go after that.”

Langan's time with the Blues started well but he was released by the club in 1984 after 18 months sidelined due to injury.

Spells with Oxford United, Leicester City, Bournemouth, and Peterborough United would follow before he retired in 1989.

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The Verdict

Langan was a fantastic servant to the East Midlands club during the late 1970s and it appears he still feels very fondly about the club.

It seems that joining Birmingham was a move that he would have preferred not to make but he felt at the time that he had to go.

You'd imagine the majority of Rams fans will not fault him for that, particularly having come through the club's academy to make more than 150 appearances for them.