[1] He was recommended to Plymouth Argyle manager Jack Tresadern by Alec Hardie, head of the club's Scottish scouting network, who thought he would go on to represent Scotland at senior level.

[2] After a successful trial, he was eventually persuaded to make the long trip south, and he signed for Argyle at the end of August 1946.

When Birmingham City showed an interest in signing Govan, he was reluctant to move away from the Plymouth area, as his wife was a local girl, but when manager Bob Brocklebank promised them a house, the deal went ahead.

[6] With the addition of the prolific Eddy Brown to regular top scorer Peter Murphy, a former league-winner with Tottenham Hotspur, combined with the creativity of Govan, fellow Plymouth winger Gordon Astall and Welsh international Noel Kinsey who had all joined the club the previous year, the Birmingham forward line outclassed any other in the 1954–55 Second Division.

In the build-up to the 1956 FA Cup semi-final with Sunderland I was interviewed by the press and happened to let slip that my favourite song was Harry Lauder's old music hall number 'Keep Right on to the End of the Road'.

In April 1956, his ability was recognised by the national selectors when he received his only call-up to the full Scotland squad for a match against Austria.

[4]He also took a productive part in Birmingham's first foray into European competition in the 1955–58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, scoring both goals to beat Inter Milan 2–1 and thereby top the qualifying group.