Suddenly, Salford City are on the hunt for silverware – with a new manager at the helm who's got the magic formula. Peter Cklamovski, the 47-year-old Australian maverick, has taken the reins from Karl Robinson, who departed after that heart-wrenching League Two play-off final defeat to Notts County last month. This is no ordinary appointment – Cklamovski's pedigree includes stints in Japan and Malaysia with clubs like Shimizu S-Pulse and Montedio Yamagata, where he whipped up attack-minded masterclasses.
'You go through the normal processes,' said Gavin Fleig, Salford's chief executive, but we suspect it was Cklamovski's sparkling CV that caught their eye. 'What does the data say? What does our market network say? What do our contacts say?' – all roads led to Cklamovski as the outstanding candidate on every metric that matters.
This battle-hardened tactician has a reputation for being process-driven and evidence-based, with Ange Postecoglou – his mentor and former boss at Yokohama F Marinos in Japan – singing his praises. 'A mentality to get better every day,' Cklamovski preaches, 'a process to improve, and focus on executing strong team performances' – sound familiar? It's the winning formula that has propelled him to success across the globe.
Now, Salford are pinning their hopes on Cklamovski leading them out of League Two and into the bright lights. With a long-term contract in place, the pressure is on – but we reckon this Aussie wizard might just be the man to conjure up promotion. We can't wait to see what he's got up his sleeve!