Steve Cotterill: Bristol City appoint ex-Forest boss as manager

League One side Bristol City have named Steve Cotterill as their new manager.

Cotterill, 49, who has been out of management since leaving Nottingham Forest in July 2012, has agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal.

City, currently 23rd in the table, have been looking for a new boss following the departure of Sean O'Driscoll - who replaced Cotterill at Forest last year.

O'Driscoll left the club after 10 months on Thursday, with City having won only two league games this term.

City vice chairman Jon Lansdown said: "I'm delighted that Steve has chosen to join Bristol City Football Club.

"I believe he has the drive, energy and ability to get us back to winning ways.

"He is passionate about bringing success to this club and I am looking forward to working with him to achieve that."

Cotterill added his track record of guiding clubs to relegation safety, and his experience with Forest in particular, holds him in good stead.

"If I don't turn this one around, it will be the only one I haven't," Cotterill said.

"And I've been in charge of a few big clubs - Forest were going down quicker than the Titanic.

"I turned that one around. It wasn't immediate, I went in there at the same sort of period, the back end of November when the [transfer] window was shut and you couldn't do anything in regards to players."

Cotterill started his managerial career at Irish side Sligo Rovers before joining Cheltenham Town, his hometown club, in 1997.

In five years, he led the Robins from non-league to League One and went on to take charge at Stoke City.

He then managed Sunderland alongside Howard Wilkinson before spells with Burnley, Notts County, Portsmouth and Forest.

During his time at the City Ground, Cotterill worked with then-coach O'Driscoll, but left when the Al-Hasawi family took over the club.

Cotterill spent time on Harry Redknapp's coaching team at QPR last year but declined the offer of a similar role this term.

The Robins were relegated from the Championship in May and they started life in League One with a run of 12 games without a win.

Results had improved last month but, with the club still in the relegation zone, the board opted to replace O'Driscoll.