Former Bristol Rovers academy manager Chris Hargreaves is set to be named the new Yeovil Town manager, Bristol Live understands.
Hargreaves has beaten a host of candidates to the post at Huish Park and should be confirmed in the next 24 hours following the exit of interim boss Charlie Lee.
It will be Hargreaves’ first permanent managerial role since he was in charge of Torquay United from 2014-2015. After leaving Plainmoor, the 50-year-old has held a number of youth coaching roles over six years with Rovers and was most recently academy manager before departing in February.
He has played a major role in the progression of a number of Rovers’ academy talent into the first team, including Alfie Kilgour, Jed Ward and Luca Hoole, the latter an influential member of the squad to have just won promotion for the Gas into League One.
Hargreaves stated at the time of his exit that his decision was motivated by the need for a new challenge at first-team level.
Yeovil confirmed on Friday that Lee would be leaving the club after eight games in charge after he was appointed on a temporary basis following the departure of Darren Sarll to Woking at the end of March.
Under Lee, the Glovers have won one, drawn five and lost two games in the National League with midfielder Josh Staunton taking charge of Sunday’s season closer against Altrincham as Yeovil won 1-0 to finish the campaign 12th in the table.
A midfielder himself with more than 600 league appearances for Grimsby Town, Hull City, Plymouth Argyle, Northampton Town, Brentford, Oxford United and Torquay United over a 20-year playing career, and although the majority of his coaching experience has been spent in the EFL with Rovers, Hargreaves has maintained a keen eye on the non-league scene.
He has been a columnist for the Non-League Paper and an analyst for BT Sport in their coverage of the National League.
Last month, Yeovil owner Scott Priestnall stated he has received “40 or 50 applications” for the post. Former full-back Jamie McAllister, who has been Lee Johnson’s assistant at Bristol City and Sunderland, had been the fans favourite, taking 58 per cent of the vote in a recent poll conducted by Gloverscast. The Scot is likely to follow Johnson to Hibernian, should the 40-year-old be named the new manager at Easter Road this week.
Hargreaves still maintains a good relationship with current Rovers boss Joey Barton which could offer a possible loan destination for some of the Gas' young talent next season, as he'll likely be overseeing a summer of change at Huish Park.
