They will be lined up this morning on a windswept pitch on the outskirts of Leeds like a ghostly reminder of a great past. As Leeds United try to negotiate the final phase of their attempt to capture new glory with promotion from Coca-Cola League One, film moguls are trying to cast the roles of some of the club’s players from one of the most turbulent chapters in football.

Brian Clough’s infamous 44-day stint at Leeds in 1974, when one of the greatest managers almost had his career wrecked in a clash of egos with players from one of the great teams of the era, is being translated from the novel The Damned Utd, by David Peace, into a £10 million film. The main parts have been cast, with Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair opposite Helen Mirren in The Queen, as the irascible, hard-drinking Cloughie. Colm Meaney, best known for his role in the Star Trek film series, plays Clough’s predecessor, Don Revie, while Timothy Spall and Jim Broadbent have roles.

But the producers need footballers to stage convincing scenes of matches from the era and the casting is open to players from the lower leagues. Not only will they have to resemble Allan Clarke, Joe Jordan and other great players of the period, but they will also have to be capable of bringing a dose of realistic action to the film with their playing ability. Simon Clifford, a leading coach in Yorkshire, is heading the auditions at the Garforth Town ground he owns in east Leeds. He said: “These are non-speaking parts, although the people we pick will have to react to what the actors are doing around them. I am looking for lads who have played at Northern Counties East, UniBond League level or higher.”

Peace’s novel proved to be controversial and engrossing for those who remembered the extraordinary encounter between a managerial rock and the hard place that was the post-Revie Leeds. They had just won the old first division title for the second time when Clough arrived in the greatest era for the club.

It is an era that Gary McAllister, the present manager, would love to emulate, but his hard place is Carlisle United’s Brunton Park, where Leeds play the second leg of their play-offs semi-final tomorrow night. They suffered a 2-1 first-leg defeat at Elland Road on Monday and their predicament would be worse had Dougie Freedman not scored their goal in the 96th minute.

McAllister believes that it is only half-time and that the tie could go right down to the final seconds. “It is game on,” he said. “I said it was a game of 180 minutes and I have to applaud my players. We played through to minute 96 and I have a feeling this tie is going right to the final minutes in Carlisle.”

Victory for Leeds will give them the chance of making a return to the second tier of English football, still a long way from the glory days of the 1970s that will be so vividly remembered in the new film.