Steve Cotterill: New Forest Green Rovers boss to rely on experience in relegation fight

Steve Cotterill comes into Forest Green with the club in the midst of a relegation battle at the bottom of League Two

New Forest Green Rovers manager Steve Cotterill says his "experience" should stand him in good stead at the relegation-threatened club.

The 59-year-old was named boss of the League Two strugglers on Thursday, with them bottom of the table and on a 12-game winless run.

Cotterill has managed nine English Football League clubs, including Burnley, Bristol City and Shrewsbury.

"I've been through these times before," he told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"I don't know if I've ever been in when there's so few games left - which is obviously an issue that you look at.

"Bristol City we were bottom of the league, looking at a second successive relegation, Nottingham Forest, I've been at Portsmouth through difficult times as well.

"Hopefully that experience will keep me in good stead."

Cotterill, who is from nearby Cheltenham, is Forest Green's sixth manager since May 2022 and takes over from Troy Deeney, who departed after just six games in charge.

The club are six points from safety and facing a second successive relegation as it stands, with 19 league games left this season.

"Unfortunately our momentum at the moment is going the other way, but we've got to try and put the brakes on that," Cotterill said.

"There's a lot of people that I trust in and around the area, but more than anything I trust my own opinion. I have a lot of time for Dale [Vince, club owner].

"I've met him twice now and I don't think I've got him wrong, I like him."

'Snookered in transfer window'

Cotterill was full of praise for goalkeeping coach Dan Connor, who has taken interim charge, but said he will look to appoint an assistant in time.

He also comes in with eight days of the January transfer window remaining and, while the club has a director of football and head of recruitment, Cotterill said he will be "strong" on player recruitment.

"I'm coming in so late and I'm in a snookered position a little bit, but I've got to try and get out of it somehow and see what we can do in the remaining days," he said.

"We are up against it time wise, if there's anything to happen in the transfer window - we don't know that yet - and that can be ins and outs, you don't know what's going to go on in this window.

"It will probably become really active in the last week or so because we are lower down the pyramid [and] there'll be a knock-on effect, I imagine it will crank up a little next week."

Cotterill most recently managed at Shrewsbury Town, leaving in June last year after two and a half years in charge

Cotterill led Cheltenham to promotion to the EFL for the first time during his five-year tenure, and has also won promotion with Bristol City and Notts Country.

He said owner Dale Vince's "vision" for the club - to take them towards the Championship - is what convinced him to take the job.

"Most people would say that when they come to the club anyway, it just perhaps hasn't gone right to him for a little while," Cotterill said.

"There's a short-term plan and that's the one we've got to deal with. If we don't deal with the short-term there's never a long-term plan."

Vince reiterated that the club has taken a different approach after appointing a string of head coaches without first-team EFL management experience in Rob Edwards, Ian Burchnall, Duncan Ferguson, David Horseman and Deeney.

"This is a different appointment, this is going for the guy who has been there, done it, got the T-shirt and gave it to a charity shop, almost - he's been doing it so long," Vince said.

"Our approach of trying to appoint up and coming coaches wasn't all bad - Rob Edwards wasn't a proven coach when he joined us.

"It's not a bad approach but it hasn't worked out the last few appointments for sure, so we're here now with a very experienced coach who has aligned with the club, with our vision, ambition - fingers crossed this one will work."