Football
Exclusive: Steve Cotterill Eyes Non-League Market to Kick-Start Cheltenham Survival Bid
Former Cheltenham Town manager Steve Cotterill is considering dipping into the non-league market to help the struggling club stay in the Football League. His return comes after a 7-1 loss, with hopes to make changes to the squad. Cotterill led the team to three promotions in the past.
Division 3 Play-Off Final - Cheltenham Town v Rushden & Diamonds by Popperfoto | Getty Images
Steve Cotterill is considering diving into the non-league market to help Cheltenham Town's survival mission, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
The Robins’ most successful manager made an emotional return to Whaddon Road this week as he bids to maintain the club’s precious Football League status this term.
Cheltenham are rooted to the foot of the League Two table and have won just one league game all season.
Cotterill returned to his hometown club with morale at an all-time low off the back of a 7-1 drubbing at Grimsby Town last weekend.
Our sources have been told Cotterill will quickly run the rule over his squad in the coming weeks and wants to make changes to the squad.
Two players who have been touted with returns to the club with Cotteril's arrival are Liam Sercombe and Sean Long, who were both signed by Cotterill at non-league Forest Green Rovers after they left the Robins following lengthy stays at the club last season.
Great History
Cotterill, who has signed a three-year deal, was the manager who famously got the club promoted to the Football League for the first time in 1999.
There were three promotions during his five-year tenure between 1997 and 2002 and Cotterill knows just how important staying up is to the club.
At his unveiling earlier this week, he said: “It's imperative that we keep this club in the Football League.
“I have been at some incredible clubs, most of them at some very difficult times, so this isn't anything new.”
“The game is nothing without the fans, whether it's the older ones or the 1887 Red Army and the younger ones, it's all about the supporters.”
“If you make them happy, it's what the game is all about. To have that level of support from all of them is incredible for me.”
Shane is an experienced sports journalist with over a decade on the front line, covering everything from football to horse racing. A familiar face in the snooker pressroom, his work regularly appears in the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, and Daily Star, alongside SportsBoom.
While snooker is where many readers know him best, cricket is his true sporting passion, though he tends to keep that side of him separate from his professional beat.
A staunch traditionalist, he’s unlikely to share your enthusiasm if you believe The Hundred is the future of Test cricket.