Jim Montgomery has paid tribute to Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn and manager Roy Keane for the respect they've shown the club's 1973 FA Cup heroes.
Porterfield died last week and Monty hailed the club for honouring their goalscoring hero.
The former Black Cats goalkeeping coach, sacked by ex-boss Peter Reid, said: "The club realise it's not just about the present, it's also about the past.
"The chairman started it and Roy is the same because he's come from a great club like Manchester United.
"Previous chairmen and managers at this club have not wanted to know us - and that's wrong."