Coventry City: Tony Mowbray named new Sky Blues manager

Tony Mowbray's time at Celtic was the one notable negative on his impressive footballing CV

Coventry City have appointed Tony Mowbray as their new manager.

The 51-year-old Yorkshireman, who succeeds the sacked Steven Pressley, was officially unveiled at a Tuesday lunchtime press conference.

The former Hibernian, West Bromwich Albion, Celtic and Middlesbrough manager has been out of football since leaving Boro in October 2013.

"We've secured the services of a highly-rated, experienced candidate," said chief executive Steve Waggott.

"Tony is a manager who has enjoyed plenty of success at a higher level. He has experience in coming into a club in challenging times and steering them through to safety and, on top of that, has enjoyed promotion too."

Mowbray, who has been appointed until the end of the season, becomes the club's 12th manager in 13 and a half years since the sacking of Gordon Strachan in September 2001.

He starts his reign with Coventry currently in 20th place in League One, a point clear of the relegation zone. But he takes charge of a team who have shown their potential by picking up four points out of a possible six from their past two matches, both against teams in League One's top six.

The Sky Blues were in the bottom four when Pressley was sacked on 23 February after two years in charge.

But Saturday's surprise 2-1 home win over MK Dons under the caretaker charge of Dave Hockaday and Neil MacFarlane, their first victory at the Ricoh Arena for four months, lifted them back out of trouble.

"We wanted someone who could come in and hit the ground running," added Waggott. "We have 14 important games left this season and the number one priority is to preserve our League One status.

"We were all very impressed with Tony during the interview process and it speaks volumes that the club are able to attract a manager of his calibre."