Cheltenham Town have confirmed that Wade Elliot will be their new head coach.

The 43-year-old is already familiar with the club having been a coach there for the past two seasons working under Michael Duff.

Duff opted to depart Cheltenham in order to become Barnsley head coach earlier this month.

Elliot has agreed a two-year contract with the club.

Speaking as part of the announcement, club chairman David Bloxham explained that the club feel they have got the right man after an 'intense' search.

"It's been a very intense couple of weeks but we believe we have arrived at the correct decision for Cheltenham Town Football Club at this moment in time" Bloxham told Cheltenham club media.

"The Board set out with a clear criteria for the type of coach we wanted and one of the key requirements was to try and continue the excellent progress we have experienced over the last three years.

"I would like to thank my fellow director Paul Godfrey and our director of football Micky Moore for putting together a comprehensive selection process and we spoke to a number of outstanding candidates for the role.

 

 

"In the end we believed that Wade's knowledge and understanding of the club, its staff and players made him uniquely placed to take us forward."

Having extensive experience in the EFL having played for the likes of Bournemouth, Burnley, Bristol and Birmingham, Wade Elliot also possesses a UEFA Pro License.

The 43-year-old, prior to working as a Cheltenham Coach, was previously a part of the under-23's set-up's at Bristol City and Stoke City.

Cheltenham and Wade's first League One fixture will be a home match against Peterborough United.

The Verdict

You'd be forgiven for thinking this was a lazy, internal appointment, but it could be a wise one.

It sounds as though the club's search for a new boss was an intense one, and clearly they feel an internal appointment is the best option for the club moving forwards.

Indeed, Elliot will be hoping to continue the fine work Michael Duff had achieved during his time in Cheltenham.

After the relative success he enjoyed at the club, though, coming in to replace Duff leaves Elliot with some big boots to fill.