A Paulsgrove teenager has been tasked with turning around the fortunes of the Football League’s worst team.
Following Wade Elliott’s sacking on Wednesday afternoon, assistant manager Kevin Russell has stepped forward to act as Cheltenham’s caretaker manager.
The Robins were bottom of League One, with only one point from their first eight league games – the worst record of any team in the Football League.
That solitary point came against Pompey in a goalless stalemate at Fratton Park last month on a difficult afternoon for the Blues.
Cheltenham have similarly failed to score in League One so far, with their single goal in ten games coming in the EFL Trophy against Bristol Rovers – and it was an own goal.
That led the strugglers to act, bringing in ex-Leicester, Stoke and Wrexham striker Russell, who also made eight appearances for Pompey as a striker. Originally from Paulsgrove, Russell would end up playing his hometown club after leaving Brighton in 1984.
After falling out with Seagulls manager Chris Cattlin after a year as an apprentice, he moved to Fratton Park to finish his scholarship and later graduated to the first-team.
Alan Ball gave him his debut in September 1985, starting a 4-1 win over Charlton in the Full Members Cup.
The forward made his league debut in May 1986, coming off the bench in a 4-0 victory over Bradford on the penultimate day of the season.
Russell, who featured for England under-18s during his time at Fratton Park, would total eight outings, four of which arrived in Division Two, before leaving in the summer of 1987.
Informed by Ball that the youngster needed regular first-team football, he was sold to Wrexham for £10,000, ending a three-year stay.
Russell would go on to enjoy a fine Football League career, turning out for Wrexham (two spells), Leicester City, Peterborough, Cardiff, Hereford, Stoke, Burnley, Bournemouth and Notts County.
After becoming a coach, he spent nine years at Stoke, before joining Elliott at Cheltenham in the summer.
Now he has been challenged with reinvigorating the League One strugglers.
