The club legend is back: Ex-Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest and Stoke boss makes hometown return after 23-year absence
The 61-year-old former Burnley, Bristol City and Birmingham manager oversaw Pompey 61 times after his June 2010 appointment
A former Pompey boss is back at the club where he is considered a local legend - after a 23-year absence.
Steve Cotterill has taken over the reigns of League Two bottom side Cheltenham and is challenged to prevent relegation into non-league.
It was Cotterill who steered the Robins into the Football League for the first time in their history during a previous glorious five-year spell in charge of his home-town club.
During that 1997-2002 period, he won three promotions and the FA Trophy, before later managing Stoke, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Birmingham.
He also spent 16 months at Fratton Park, having replaced Avram Grant in June 2010, with the club in administration and newly-relegated from the Premier League.
‘The time is right for a return’
Now the 61-year-old Cotterill, who departed as Forest Green Rovers manager in the summer, has taken over from Michael Flynn on a deal until the summer of 2028.
‘Those are words many people never thought they would hear but having held discussions with Steve and his agent over the past few days, we all believe that the time is right for him to return.
‘Steve is a manager with vast experience and a record of success going back many years. I think it's fair to say that we would not be able to attract someone with his record of success unless he wanted the opportunity to rejoin his home-town club and the place where it all began for him.
‘We have all been bitterly disappointed by our start to the season, but positive action has been taken and there are still a lot of games left for us to turn things around.’
Cheltenham have won one of their opening 10 league games, scoring just four times and having lost 7-1 at Grimsby on Saturday after finishing the League Two match with nine men.
Cotterill oversaw Forest Green’s third-place finish in the National League last season, although they were eliminated in the play-off semi-finals on penalties by a Southend side which finished 15 points below them.
Managed Portsmouth when in administration
During his first season at Fratton Park in 2010-11, the former Burnley boss had to cope with the club’s precarious financial position, including starting the season in administration.
Despite off-field difficulties, including not being allowed to play Richard Hughes and Michael Brown who would have been entitled to new deals with another appearance, Pompey finished 16th in the Championship.
Following Convers Sports Initiative’s takeover in June 2011, Cotterill was handed money to spend, buying the likes of Greg Halford, Erik Huseklepp, Jason Pearce and Stephen Henderson.
However, he quit Fratton Park in October 2011 to join Nottingham Forest, having managed the Blues for 61 matches, including 19 victories, with a win ratio of 31.14 per cent.
He subsequently took Bristol City to the League One title in April 2015, winning the EFL Trophy in the same season, earning him the League One Manager of the Year accolade.
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