Cheltenham Town are searching for a new manager following the sacking of Michael Flynn.
The League Two strugglers wielded the axe following a ninth defeat in 12 games in all competitions, which left the Robins rooted to the bottom of the Football League with one win to their name.
Former Cheltenham manager Steve Cotterill has emerged as the hot favourite to return to Whaddon Road, where he previously managed over 300 games.
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Steve Cotterill frontrunner for Cheltenham return
Cheltenham are looking to make their first managerial appointment of the Mike Garlick era.
Cotterill is rumoured to be a primary candidate, to the point that betting has been suspended, while local journalist Jon Palmer has tweeted that he expects the club to move quickly, and that an experienced manager will come in.
Many Town fans regard Cotterill as the club’s greatest ever manager, on the basis of winning two promotions in his first stint in charge as well as the FA Trophy, even if Michael Duff’s more recent success has opened up the debate.
Since Cotterill left for Stoke in 2002, he’s been linked with the job once or twice in latter years, but the indications have been that he hasn’t wanted to tarnish his legacy – instead enhancing it, one might say, by getting relegated with rivals Forest Green!
Now, the suggestions are that the 61-year-old could be open to one last dance at Whaddon Road, possibly on a short-term basis.
The ideal short-term fix?
The club are keen to recruit a Director of Football, and will make a better choice than the Paul Baker-inspired option of returning to Gary Johnson, who many perceive to have had a negative influence at the club before leaving last week.
Cotterill is unlikely to want to work with a DoF, but he does have a record that would suggest he will keep the club up if he takes charge, so a deal until the end of the season could make sense for all parties.
Since leading Bristol City to the double in 2015, the Cheltenham-born boss hasn’t had the success he wanted at Championship level with them and Birmingham, but has proved reliable in League One with Shrewsbury.
Inheriting a difficult situation from Sam Ricketts, Cotterill led the Shrews to comfortable survival in 2020-21, then again in 2021-22, and a top half finish the following season.
Salop might not have been anything special to watch under his leadership, but his record becomes especially impressive when you look at how much they’ve struggled since he left.
What Cotterill’s Cheltenham could look like tactically
Cotterill prefers a 3-5-2 formation, which aligns with Cheltenham’s set-up, featuring a wing-back system in the majority of their games. However, he may adjust to a 3-4-2-1 to accommodate Isaac Hutchinson and Ethon Archer – the team’s two most creative players.
Nonetheless, a lot of League Two teams are vulnerable on turnovers, so Cheltenham may feel they can tick over the points they need just by being solid at the back and striking on the counter, which is a big part of Cotterill’s methodology.
Having started playing in the 1980s, Cotterill is likely to have worked under some of the more abrasive managers, and it may have somewhat informed his overall style.
He has quite an intense leadership style, and can be something of a commander general on the sidelines, constantly barking orders.
When he was at Shrewsbury, he seemed to have a nice blend with assistant Aaron Wilbraham, who always looked from afar like the cool head in a crisis, and goalkeeping coach Brian Jensen who was the funny guy lightening the mood.
So, with Cotterill, it’s important that his management team bring different qualities, so that his intensity isn’t the only thing the players experience – but in the right circumstances, it can keep people on their toes, and that type of leadership could be what Cheltenham need.
In terms of leadership on the field, Cotterill could be looking to build around a core of Joe Day, James Wilson, Luke Young and Liam Kinsella.
Aside from Young, who’s played much of his career in the National League but was a valuable player last season nonetheless, these are all experienced Football League players who should be the bedrock of the bid to escape trouble.
If it is Cotterill, who worked briefly with Garlick at Burnley in the mid-noughties, it’s likely to be a deal until the end of the season.
Anyone else linked?
If the job doesn’t go to Cotterill, former Rotherham boss Matt Taylor has also been linked, with the added advantage of serving a potential long-term purpose and as somebody who might be open to working with a DoF next summer and beyond.