Inside Steve Cotterill’s emotional Cheltenham Town return: Why iconic boss came back 23 YEARS later, the tweaks he’s made behind the scenes to bring back the feelgood factor – and his ‘short-term’ plan for the Robins

A return to Cheltenham Town some day always appealed to Steve Cotterill.

After all, it was Cotterill’s five successful years in charge of his hometown club between 1997 and 2002 – when he took the Robins from the Southern Premier Division to Division Two (now League One) – that proved to be the launchpad for a managerial career which passed 1,000 games earlier this year.

The opportunity arose before, but the timing wasn’t right. Yet at the end of September, when Cheltenham’s new owner Mike Garlick came calling, things fell into place.

‘I’ve always supported the club,’ Cotterill tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘Even when I wasn’t in charge, and that will always be the same. I knew I would like to come back at one point, but you never know until that day comes.’

Cotterill, who has coached the likes of Birmingham, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, and Burnley – where he crossed paths with Garlick, a former Clarets chairman – oversaw the most successful period in Cheltenham’s history.

This was no ordinary time to return though. Mike Flynn had just been sacked, Cheltenham were bottom of the EFL with four points from 10 matches – and were thrashed 7-1 at Grimsby three days prior to his arrival.

‘I feared a little bit for how it was going and where they were in the league,’ adds Cotterill.

They’ve only been in this position once before, but I was employed then. I felt that (pain). My age was another thing. You can travel around the country, and I’ve done that throughout my career, but I’m from the West Country and Cheltenham is my hometown.

I then had a meeting with Mike. He wants to put a bit more into the club than they’ve been able to afford in recent years. That will benefit us and everybody who works here.’

There were 23 years between Cotterill’s first spell and his return, but the Robins were never far from his heart. Wherever he was, he would instantly check the result on a Saturday, and the 61-year-old attended games, often undetected, when out of work.

His return has had an immediate uplift on and off the pitch. Monday night’s 2-1 defeat by high-flying Notts County was the first league loss of Cotterill’s tenure. The Robins have picked up 10 points in five games and beat Bradford City, currently second in League One, in the FA Cup.

‘There has been a lot of hard work,’ Cotterill explains. It’s not just the results. It’s how we’ve played that’s been important and our performances have been good.’

Cotterill’s emotional homecoming couldn’t have started any better as the Robins beat Fleetwood 2-0 in his first game, a day he called ‘perfect’. Players have responded well to his arrival and a feel-good factor has returned.

The statistics lay bare his impact. In their first 10 league games this season, Cheltenham scored a measly four goals and conceded 24. They have netted seven times and shipped just three in Cotterill’s five matches. The Robins are still 22nd but have pulled themselves to within reach of mid-table. Having been 10 points adrift of 16th place, they are only four behind now.

Cotterill, his assistant Rob Edwards and Russell Milton, who joined at the same time as chief scout but helps out with coaching, initially focused on Cheltenham’s work on the ball and developing attacking patterns. Restarts and set-pieces were also prioritized.

The squad is full of good League Two players including Isaac Hutchinson, Luke Young, Ethon Archer and Cheltenham favorite Ryan Broom, now in his third spell with the club. But confidence was unsurprisingly low, and staff have tried to address that.

Cotterill cites the victory against Fleetwood as crucial for belief, which has been built upon by subsequent results. He has used his tactical acumen to guide his players through games.

The Robins have been astute in the market too, signing free agents Ben Stevenson and Jonathan Tomkinson. Hakeeb Adelakun, a forward who scored 13 times for Salford City last season, was added this week.

For Cotterill, who is engaging and insightful, this is the latest chapter in an impressive coaching career that also saw him win promotions with Bristol City and Notts County.

He has faced incredible challenges though, not least when he was fighting for his life after contracting Covid-19 in 2021 while Shrewsbury Town boss. During that ordeal, Cotterill was scared to fall asleep in intensive care in case he never woke up.

He returned heroically, spending two more years with the Shrews, as they stayed up in League One against the odds. The 61-year-old then had 18 months at Forest Green Rovers but was harshly sacked in June after they lost in the National League play-offs.

Cotterill has seen a lot in his career, but how different is he now from that first spell at Cheltenham?

“I’m a much better manager,” he says. ‘Better for the experiences, whether good or bad. They’re all good really, if you learn from them and understand what happened or what you could have done better.

I’m calmer too, and I love working with younger players. They keep me young and that’s huge for me. I don’t always like the football industry and how things work, but I love my football.’

In many ways, Cotterill is responsible for the modern Cheltenham given that he led the club into the EFL for the first time.

Over that five-year period, he won 147 of 303 games, and as well as three promotions, the Robins lifted the FA Trophy in 1998. Cotterill similarly oversaw the professionalization of the club and both the training ground and stadium were improved.

‘Everybody talks about coming from the Southern League and leaving the club in League One,’ adds Cotterill, who also played as a striker for Cheltenham in non-League. That will probably never be done again. But one of the big things for me, especially being a local, was when I was at school, we only played rugby and cricket.

I grew up with Cheltenham Races, Gloucester Rugby, and Gloucestershire Cricket. They were the three big events. You come off the M5 now, and there are signs to Cheltenham Town FC. None of those were around years ago.

It’s incredible how far the club has come. If you are a Cheltenham lad now and you grow up to be a professional footballer, you can be a professional footballer in your hometown. I never had that. I’m pleased for those parents who can see their children rise through the academy. That gave me incredible pride even when I wasn’t here. The trophies were great, and we’re pleased about them, but the biggest thing for me is football in Cheltenham.

When I returned, someone said: “Are you worried about ruining your legacy?” I’ll never be able to ruin my legacy. It doesn’t matter what happens because the legacy is already there. That’s important to me.’

Cotterill, who signed a three-year deal, is aware that progress won’t be linear. Cheltenham were promoted to League One in 2021, but relegated three years later – and they finished 15th last season.

The Robins, who have only been out of the EFL for one season since Cotterill took them up in 1999, have long thrived through smart decision-making and savvy management despite having a small budget. Yet this season’s preparations were hampered by Garlick’s takeover not being completed until late August.

That saw defender Tom Bradbury reject a new deal and join Harrogate Town, while head of medicine Gavin Crowe and strength and conditioning coach Kyler Burns moved to Bristol Rovers.

There is excitement at what Garlick could bring to a club who are at the heart of their community, but Cotterill’s focus is purely on the immediate future.

“First, I want to take us away from the bottom of League Two,” he says. I haven’t looked at what I would call the longer-term plan. I could give you the spiel about having a longer-term plan and what we want to do – but without this short-term plan, there is no long-term.

‘Until December it’s a three-month short-term plan and our long-term plan is until the end of the season. If we can maintain our form, get lucky (in terms of injuries) and get to the January window, we’ll see what we can do. It’s easier to recruit if you’re a few places higher than where we are now.

‘We need to get as many points on the board as we can by the turn of the year and then roll into the rest of the season. There is no other plan now other than the one-year plan.’

Can Adams inspire the Pilgrims?

In another classic episode of a manager returning to their former EFL side, you would have got good money on Derek Adams rejoining Plymouth Argyle this week as director of football.

The experienced Adams, last seen at Morecambe, spent four years in charge of the Pilgrims between 2015 and 2019. During that time, the Scot oversaw a promotion from League Two, but he was sacked with one game of the 2018-19 season to go when the club dropped into the League One relegation zone – and ultimately went down.

It’s been a dire campaign so far for Plymouth, who are at the bottom of the third tier. After an upturn in form over September, Tom Cleverley’s side have lost their last six games in all competitions – and they will hope Adams can provide valuable support and guidance to the former Manchester United midfielder.

League One fans in for a treat

The chaos and drama in the Championship often grabs the most attention in the EFL, but it appears fans of the third tier are in for a treat this season if the first 15 games are anything to go by.

Stockport County currently tops League One with 28 points, but they are only seven clear of 12th place Rotherham who are four points adrift of the play-offs.

In fact, seven of the top eight, who are separated by just six points, lost last weekend, and beaten play-off finalists Leyton Orient, who are languishing in 20th place, are only eight adrift of Lincoln City in sixth.