Former Burnley and Stoke coach Dave Kevan has today joined Cheltenham Town as first team coach.
Cheltenham Town have appointed Dave Kevan as a first team coach here at the Abbey Business Stadium.Dave, 45, is the former assistant manager to Steve Cotterill at both Burnley and Notts County although his most recent job was as a coach in Stoke City's Academy. Dave was released from Stoke following the departure of Tony Pulis.
Dave linked up with the first team on Thursday and took sessions alongside Mark Yates and Neil Howarth who believe he will add valuable experience to the backroom staff.
As a player Dave was a Scottish midfielder who began his career as a youth player with Notts County and he later made his debut for the Magpies against Gillingham in February 1984. He went on to make almost 100 appearances for County as well as enjoying a short loan spell with Cardiff City before making a permanent switch to Stoke City under the management of Alan Ball. After finding himself out of the team he had a loan spell with Maidstone United but on his return under new manager Lou Macari he was placed in defence. He won promotion into the second tier in 1992-93 before moving onto AFC Bournemouth where he ended his career.
After retiring as a player he quickly became part of the coaching staff at Stoke City and he was appointed first team coach in 2001. He also had a spell as the club's caretaker manager in 2002 between the departure of former Robins manager Steve Cotterill and the arrival of Tony Pulis. He became Cotterill's assistant at both Burnley and Notts County before enjoying coaching spells with Stockport and Hereford in more recent years. He returned to Stoke in June 2011 as Academy team manager but he was relieved of his role following the departure of Tony Pulis.
Dave Kevan's appointment follows recent changes to the backroom staff with Ian Hutton and Craig Cope coming onboard. Ian Hutton is the club's fitness coach and the current manager of the Cheltenham Town Ladies team. He has been helping first team players with their strength and conditioning over the past few seasons but has now taken on a more focussed role. Craig Cope is a student at the University of Worcester who has now taken control of video analysis here at Cheltenham Town.
We can confirm that former fitness coach and video analyst Jason Murphy has stepped down from his role here at Cheltenham Town due to work commitments. We'd like to thank Jason for all his efforts and we look forward to seeing him back here at the Abbey Business Stadium soon.