[4] Francis then had further short playing spells at Cardiff City, Swansea City and Portsmouth before a move to Bristol Rovers in 1985 yielded 32 league appearances, where he ended his playing career in 1986 prior to a short non-playing stint as player-coach at Wimbledon.
Following a spell as defensive coach at Wimbledon he succeeded Bobby Gould as manager of Third Division side Bristol Rovers.
[5] With the resignation of Graham Taylor as England national team manager in November 1993 following failure to qualify for the World Cup, Francis was one of the many names linked to the vacancy, but the job went to Terry Venables instead.
Mid table finishes in the next two seasons were unconvincing and Francis resigned in November 1997 with Spurs battling against relegation from the Premier League.
He kept them clear of relegation over the next two seasons before finally resigning in February 2001 with a return to the lower half of the league imminent after more than 30 years.
He briefly became Director of Football at QPR before beginning his second spell as manager of Bristol Rovers in June 2001.
Three successive wins at the start of the 2001–02 campaign gave the Pirates hope for promotion back to Division Two, but injuries soon took their toll on the side's form and Francis resigned just before Christmas.
[8] Following Pulis's surprise departure from the club in August 2014 Francis remained in his position in order to assist caretaker manager Keith Millen.