Graham Coughlan had to impress former Bristol Rovers boss to get Newport County job

Graham Coughlan made the return to management as he was appointed as the new manager of League Two outfit Newport County.

The 47-year-old had been out of work for over a year and had been looking for his next managerial opportunity. His last job was a brief stint in charge of Sheffield United’s Under-21 team, working alongside Darren Currie.

Newport took their time to appoint a successor to James Rowberry and the appointment of the Dublin-born boss came out of the blue. Details as to how Coughlan was appointed manager of the Welsh club have now emerged, including impressing a predecessor at Bristol Rovers.

A two-stage process took place with sporting director Darren Kelly leading the process, which took place on Zoom. Kelly didn’t work alone and instead sought the help of a highly-respected coach who worked on an advisory basis.

Paul Trollope, who played for the Gas between 2004 and 2007 went on to manage the club and served them for six years, gave his opinion on the choice of candidates through the process.

Trollope led Rovers to promotion to League One in 2007 after losing the EFL Trophy final. Another stand-out moment was leading them to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first-time in 50 years.

He has been out of work since Chris Houghton was sacked as manager of Nottingham Forest last season. Trollope has since worked as an advisor to Newport, sharing his wealth of coaching and managerial experience.

Coughlan and Trollope never crossed paths with the latter leaving in 2010, whilst Coughlan wasn’t appointed as Rovers boss until December 2018. Rovers had five managers in between Trollope and Coughlan’s tenures.

A total of 26 managers and coaches applied for the role and were assessed virtually by Kelly and Trollope, before the shortlist was drawn up. Coughlan ended up impressing the pair, as well as Newport’s club hierarchy including their chairman Gavin Foxall and other board members. It was reported that ex-Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell and former Forest Green manager Mark Cooper had been candidates.

“His CV speaks for itself in terms of experience in this league, both as a player and manager, but it struck us that he has an infectious enthusiasm and was very clear about what the team really needs,” said Newport’s club chairman Foxall to the South Wales Argus.

“He was clear that they are a decent squad but that they aren’t showing a consistent rhythm, and he shared with us some of his values. “He had a very clear plan in terms of what he is going to do in the short term and then in the medium term as well.

“We are in a position in the league that we didn’t anticipate we’d be in when we started the season but we are in that position and Graham has a clear plan to get us up the table looking upwards and not down.”