Following the retirement of manager Wade Elliott, a Stoke City hero steps forward. Stoke City news from StokeonTrentLive. Kevin Russell is appointed interim manager of Cheltenham Town.
Following the resignation of manager Wade Elliott, Stoke City star Kevin Russell has been appointed interim manager of Cheltenham Town.
After three years with the club, Elliott has “by mutual consent” parted ways with the Cherries. He joined from Stoke in September 2020 as the under-21 coach, and last summer, he was elevated to head coach, taking Michael Duff’s place.
Russell was appointed as Wade’s assistant manager at the end of May, having left Stoke after nine years back at the club as a youth coach. The 56-year-old was a big crowd favourite as a player under Lou Macari in the early 1990s and returned in the summer of 2014, working largely with the under-21s and 18s, while also stepping in to help with first team matters at times, particularly between managerial appointments in 2018 and 2019.
Cheltenham are bottom of the League One table after managing only one point from their opening eight matches of the season. They lost 3-0 at Peterborough United on Tuesday night – a ninth defeat out of 10 in all competitions this term.
The Gloucestershire squad released the following statement: “Cheltenham Town and first team manager Wade Elliott have mutually agreed to split ways today.
“The directors would like to express their gratitude for Wade’s efforts since joining the team as a coach in September 2020, playing an important role in the club’s highest finish and then the League Two title win alongside Michael Duff. After being appointed head coach last summer, he went on to record the second-best individual finish for the club.
The team will be led in an interim capacity by assistant manager Kevin Russell when they play Stevenage on Saturday at The Completely-Suzuki Stadium.
