Former Bristol City midfielder gets first senior job in management after Cheltenham appointment

Former Bristol City midfielder Wade Elliott has taken up the reins at Cheltenham Town after being appointed as their new head coach.

Elliott becomes the new Robins boss after replacing Michael Duff, who left to take up the vacancy at their League One rivals Barnsley.

It had been expected that perhaps Duff would be joined by Elliott in Yorkshire but instead, he has opted to try his hand in the management game himself after a brief taste of it at Ashton Gate.

The 43-year-old had been working as first-team coach for the last two years at Whaddon Road but will now take up the most senior management role at the club after biding his time.

His appointment means that when City begin their pre-season schedule, they will come up against Elliott in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the High Performance Centre on Wednesday, July 6.

"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,” said club chairman David Bloxham.

"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 also think it’s fair to say that Michael Duff would have liked to have Wade with him at Barnsley because his contribution to our success over the past two seasons has been considerable.

"However, we are delighted that he has chosen to stay with us and step up to his first management job."

Southampton-born Elliot was at Bristol City from 2014 to 2016, working mainly under Steve Cotterill, as both a player and coach.

Signed on a one-month loan from Birmingham City, he had a season long loan at Ashton Gate, playing 19 times as City finished mid-table after relegation from the Championship.

After becoming a free agent, he was signed and appointed captain, which is a highlight of his evident leadership abilities. He played a key role in the team’s League and EFL Trophy double in 2015, missing just 10 league games that season.

Elliot wound down his playing career at the conclusion of the campaign and later took made his first steps into coaching, becoming the under-21’s manager at the end of the 2015 season.

He would be afforded the opportunity to manage the club when Cotterill was sacked in 2016, overseeing a number of games in caretaker charge along with John Pemberton.

His stay would be brought to an end however as following the arrival of Johnson, he left City at the end of the season, taking up the same role at Stoke City.