Charlton Athletic appoint Russell Slade as manager after Championship relegation

Russell Slade was Cardiff manager between October 2014 and May 2016, before becoming the Welsh club's head of football

Relegated Charlton Athletic have appointed Russell Slade as their new manager.

The 55-year-old former Yeovil Town, Brighton, Leyton Orient and Cardiff boss has agreed a three-year deal at The Valley.

Slade left his role as head of football with the Bluebirds last week.

He replaces Jose Riga, who resigned as head coach on 7 May after the end of the Championship campaign, in which the Addicks finished in 22nd place.

"I am very pleased to be appointed manager of Charlton, a club with a fantastic tradition and history," Slade told the club website.

"I was attracted to Charlton as it has great facilities, passionate fans and a very successful academy. This is a hugely exciting opportunity and I cannot wait to get started."

After four years at Leyton Orient, Slade joined Cardiff as boss in October 2014 and won 32 of his 86 games in charge of the Welsh side, who finished eighth last season.

However, he was replaced by Paul Trollope at the end of the 2015-16 campaign and given the post of head of football - a role which he left on Friday after just 28 days in the job.

Charlton employed three different managers as they suffered the drop back into League One, ending their four-year stay in the Championship.

Chief executive Katrien Meire said Slade's appointment as manager represented the start of "an exciting new era at the club".

She added: "We don't underestimate the challenge of getting Charlton back into the Championship.

"We believe Russell is the man to help us achieve this and ensure that Charlton have a successful 2016-17 campaign."

Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet has made six managerial changes since he bought the south-east London club in January 2014, and Addicks fans held a series of protests aimed at the Belgian businessman and Meire this year.