Wade Elliott has revealed the huge influence Steve Cotterill had on his managerial career during their highly successful time together at Bristol City.
Elliott goes up against his former boss in the dugout for the first time on Saturday when his Cheltenham Town side host Cotterill's Shrewsbury Town in their League One encounter.
The ex-City midfielder followed Cotterill from Burnley to the Robins, initially on loan in January 2014 before making the temporary switch a permanent one at the end of the season. Elliott was appointed captain and the duo helped guide City to a famous double as they sealed a return to the Championship while also lifting the Football League Trophy.
It would be Elliott's final swansong in professional football as he hung up his boots to take up a coaching role with City's Under-21 side - something that was strongly encouraged by Cotterill even though the player wasn't considering his retirement at the time.
Speaking to Gloucester Live, Elliott said: "He didn’t just give me a nudge into coaching, it was a full shove.
"I had started doing my badges when I was at Birmingham City, but at Bristol City I was captain and played in 36 league matches that season so I wasn’t considering retirement.
“Steve called me around March time and said he wanted me to coach the 21s the following season, but I wanted to carry on playing because I felt I was still adding value on the pitch and had decent Championship experience.
“It was not the way Steve wanted to go so I had to make a decision, leave and play, or accept the coaching role. That was the first step on the path I am now following.”
Elliott took the role of U21 manager at the end of the 2014-15 season but was handed his first taste of senior management following Cotterill's sacking in January 2016. Alongside John Pemberton, the pair stepped in as interim before Lee Johnson's appointment the following month.
The duo took charge of five fixtures, winning two of them but Johnson wanted to shake up the coaching staff and it left Elliott without work in the following summer which he admitted left him "feeling lost."
Following coaching spells with Forest Green Rovers and Stoke City, he left to join the backroom staff at Cheltenham in September 2020 before being handed the managerial reins this summer following Michael Duff's departure.
It's been a summer of transition for Cheltenham who have won two of their opening nine matches. For 90 minutes on Saturday, there will be no love lost between the duo but Elliott has huge respect for Cotterill for the impact he had on him as a player and manager.
Describing how his move to City came about, he added: "I was in my mid-30s and I just wanted to play,
“Bristol City were in the relegation zone, but I thought they had a good squad and I fancied it rather than sitting around. We had a really good end to the season and I enjoyed it, knowing the manager well and it was a great bunch of lads.
"Steve asked me if I fancied it in the summer and I asked him if we’d be competitive because I wanted a team chasing promotion.
"I didn’t know it was going to be my last season, but after lifting the EFL Trophy at Wembley, my last act as a player was walking out at Ashton Gate and lifting the League One trophy. It was a brilliant 18 months and Steve was good for me because I played 60 or 70 games and only lost three or four.”
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