WHEN the draw for the Carling Cup was made one Accrington Stanley player was certainly smiling.

Andy Todd signed his first professional football contract at Nottingham Forest so he had an extra reason to be on top of the world with the draw.

Stanley will to take on the twice European champions on Monday, live on Sky. And Todd, 27, is hoping he can make an impact against his former club.

He signed under Frank Clark when Forest were in the Premiership and the club holds cherished memories for the Nottingham-born player.

"The game is special for all the players but I don't know if the lads know it is that special for me," said the right winger.

"I signed from non league for them and spent a year and a half doing my apprenticeship and then signed my first professional contract there in 1996. It was a strange time to be involved at the club as they were a bit of a yo-yo team. In my first year, they got relegated from the Premiership - even though they were still in the UEFA Cup before they lost to Bayern Munich - then they won the First Division with Dave Bassett and then they got relegated again.

"It was good to be there, though, at the time. I have connections with both Nottingham clubs as I was a school boy with Notts County aged from 10-16 but I really did think I could make a go of it at Nottingham Forest but it wasn't to be and I left in 1998/9.

"It is startling how much the club has changed over the years and what has happened there. But they do seem on a bit of a revival at the moment and I am sure they will give it a good go this season to get back into the Championship.

"I never got to meet the late Brian Clough but I have heard he was a gentleman and I am sure a lot of managers, like John Coleman, follow his philosophy."

Since the heady days of Brian Clough's 18-year reign where he spent 16 seasons in the top flight and won 15 cups including the precious two European ones, Forest have had a fall from grace. At one time last season under Gary Megson they were battling against relegation to League Two, but new boss Colin Calderwood seems to have made them a force to be reckoned with again.

But Todd believes the Reds can claim a big scalp - following in the footsteps of their glorious FA Cup run when they saw off Huddersfield and Bournemouth three seasons ago. And he says to score against his old club would be "undescribable" - and don't bet against it.

"I have been on Sky twice and scored both times so I have been thinking about it!" he said. "I played for Hucknall Town in the FA Trophy final and I scored a penalty in the shoot-out against Grays - although we lost.

"Then last season, I scored against Morecambe on Sky for Accrington so I am keeping my fingers crossed I can keep going.

"The only negative thing for me is that the tie is settled on the night so I won't have the chance to go back to the City Ground. I would have loved to have played there but I will settle for scoring a winning goal or the winning penalty, live on Sky for Accrington against my old club on Monday!"

Stanley do have a good record as, of their TV appearances, they have just one loss in their nine shows - to Aldershot on the opening day of their Conference campaign.

And he admits last Saturday's win over Barnet was just what the doctor ordered after a tough start to their League Two life with two losses.

"It was a weight lifted off the club. It was nice to show a few people that we are not just here to make up the numbers and that we worked hard last season to get where we are and we won't give it up lightly.

"There is no doubt this is going to be tougher than last year but we want to establish Accrington as a league club for years to come and hopefully move onto even bigger things."

A win over Forest will certainly show the rest that Stanley mean business.