Cheltenham Town are set to announce the former Port Vale boss Darrell Clarke as their new manager, as per reports in Gloucestershire Live.
The Robins have been in the hunt for a manager since sacking Wade Elliott was relieved of his duties nine days ago. Should Clarke be announced as the new man at the helm, he will be taking on quite a challenge with the club rooted to the bottom of League One having gained only one point all season and failing to find the net in a league match.
The 45-year-old has an excellent CV in the lower leagues of English football, having secured back-to-back promotions with Bristol Rovers and the League Two playoff success with Port Vale just over a year ago.
The former Mansfield Town midfielder began his managerial career with Salisbury City who he led to two promotions before moving on to Bristol Rovers. He would guide the Pirates through a successful National League playoff campaign before securing a second promotion in as many years to get the club into League One.
After a mid-table finish in League Two with Walsall, he decided to join divisional rivals Port Vale during the 2020-21 season. The building blocks he put in place during that half a season in charge helped lead the club to fifth the following year and achieve promotion via the playoff lottery.
According to Gloucestershire Live, it is unclear whether Clarke will be in the dugout or just take on a watching brief for this Saturday’s trip to Lincoln City as Cheltenham look to get their season up and running.
Writer’s View
You have to say this is a great appointment for Cheltenham Town. Clarke’s record of promotions is excellent and he looked to be keeping Port Vale in the division before leaving the club.
This is a huge challenge for the manager as he looks to right the ship and start getting some points on the board. From my Lincoln City standpoint, the timing of this appointment could have been better, with the match on Saturday providing the players their first opportunity to impress the new boss.
