End of the road at Bristol City for sacked Cotterill

Steve Cotterill enjoyed a memorable season with Bristol City last term, but he has now been relieved of his duties due to a disappointing campaign thus far.

Cotterill earned promotion with the Robins by leading them to the League One title last season, and on top of this, he also delivered the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. However, City have endured a difficult return to the Championship and have won just one of their last 12 in all competitions, resulting in chairman Keith Dawe issuing the 51-year-old with his P45 on Thursday.

“I believed he could keep us in League One and build from there,” he said on the club website. “Steve did keep us in the division and went on to deliver a League One championship and Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. That season will live in the memory for a long time. Sadly, since the highs of last March and May things have not gone our way and Steve has now left the club.”

A 2-1 defeat to Preston North End on Tuesday leaves the Robins third-bottom of the second-tier table, although they are just two points from safety. This was clearly a worry for Dawe, who added: “The club’s aspiration is to ultimately become a Premier League club and this decision has been made to achieve our overall strategy for growth and player development.”

Assistant manager John Pemberton and under-21 boss Wade Elliott will be in the dugout this weekend, when they welcome Middlesbrough to Ashton Gate Stadium. Little will be expected from the home side against Aitor Karanka’s promotion-chasing side, who opened up a five-point lead at the head of the table when they won at Brentford in midweek.

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