During his time at the Baggies, Giles also orchestrated a golden age of Albion talent.

‘Bomber’ Brown played some of his best years under Giles en route to becoming Albion’s record goalscorer and appearance maker, with both records remaining intact to this day.

“He had a tremendous influence on me when he first arrived,” ‘Bomber’ said. “At that time my confidence was at a very low point. Johnny made me play again, he gave me back my confidence. After that everything went in one direction: we played in a fantastic team.

“He was a great player and a great coach. He is the best player I have ever played with, I would say. The club was struggling and Johnny arrived, in that short space of time he managed to get us back to the top. “I wonder where we would have been if he hadn’t.”

Like Brown, centre-back Robertson also played with and under Giles during his more than 500 appearances for the Baggies.

“To me, he was the best coach I ever had,” Robertson said. I had been off the team and never missed a game when John was the coach. He was brilliant to play for and a brilliant coach. The whole club changed completely, it was down and then we achieved promotion to the old First Division.

“It will be great to hear some of the stories he has because he is brilliant.”

Born in County Durham, Robertson’s defensive partner John Wile joined Albion from Peterborough in 1970 and spent much of his 500-plus appearances under Giles’ management.

“He had a big influence on me and everyone,” Wile said. “He made me a better player, he made the team a better team. He came to us as a renowned midfielder, one of the best midfielders in the country, in fact, in the world.

“It was a privilege to play with him, play for him and make Albion a much better team.”