Perfect role
Elliott playing a part in Duff’s off-field team
THE biggest challenge of Wade Ellliott’s coaching role at Cheltenham Town has been getting used to addressing his old team-mate Michael Duff as ‘gaffer’.
It has otherwise been a seamless transition for the former Burnley midfielder, who left his job as Under-23s coach at Stoke City before being added to Duff’s staff at the League Two Robins in the summer.
“I joke that one of my jobs is to keep his ego in check because managers do tend to end up with a bit of an ego, but the gaffer is definitely grounded,” Elliott said.
“I’d known Eddie Howe from playing with him at Bournemouth, so when he became Burnley boss I couldn’t stop calling him Eddie.
“In the end, Eddie had to say to the lads I’d be fined every time it happened, and I’m probably the second tightest person in football after him, so after that it was always ‘gaffer’ and it’s been the same here; I’m used to it now.”
Elliott was part of the Bournemouth team that won promotion via the playoffs to League One in 2002/03, earning a move to Burnley in 2005.
He spent the next six seasons at Turf Moor with Duff and it was Elliott’s stunning goal in the 2009 Championship play-off final against Sheffield United at Wembley that took the Clarets into the Premier League.
Since taking over at Cheltenham in September 2018, Duff has formed a close-knit staff including assistant manager Russell Milton and goalkeeping coach Steve Book, who, like Elliott, are former team-mates.
Elliott, 42, relocated back to Bristol and was invited to link up with Cheltenham. He said: “We have stayed in touch and we had a discussion about how it could be mutually beneficial, helping keep me busy and also allowing me to add some value, chip in and help.
“Anyone who knows me would probably agree that I am opinionated, and some people might not want that, but it’s something the gaffer did well and he is accepting of my honesty, and I think that makes for a decent dynamic.”
An added bonus for Duff is that Elliott was part of Steve Cotterill’s Bristol City double winners in 2014-15, which used the 3-5-2 formation effectively.
“The gaffer and Russ had established the formation before I came, so it was already refined,” Elliott said.
“But I could come with a different perspective, adding to what is already a well thought out process.”
On matchdays, Elliott can be seen high up in the stand, feeding information down to the touchline and reporting back at half-time.
“It’s something Michael did at Burnley and he sees value it in,” Elliott said.
“You can look at the game and take a broader view, a little more detached than being on the touchline, when you are probably more in tune with the players emotionally.
“It’s useful to have a combination of them both and I feed back as and when, usually on the mic to Russ. I gather as much as possible in the heat of the moment, and it might be something to talk about in the technical area.”
One of Elliott’s other responsibilities has been one-on-one sessions with the younger members of the squad, although time has been limited due to the congested fixture list this term.
“The gaffer and Russ have their hands full with the games, so there is a bit of focus from me on that role,” he said. “I have tried to sit down with the lads and find out what they feel they need to work on, targeting four or five specific things.
“Some of it might be tactical understanding so they can chat to the analyst Shaun (Howl), while others may be physical and they can work with Josh (Harris) the sports scientist, incorporating things into their programmes.
“We can also add in specific drills or sessions for them – for example, if Grant Horton wants to work on defending first contact headers against big centre forwards, we’ll work out a slot and the gaffer, who knows more about heading a ball than I ever will, will go out with Grant and maybe Reuben (Reid), Willo (Andy Williams) or Callum Ebanks and look at how Grant attacks the ball.
“It could also be Lloydy (George Lloyd) working with Russ about a different movement, or type of finish, but we try to come up with ways to improve the lads.”
As the season nears its halfway stage, Elliott has enjoyed his new challenge.
“I have loved it and obviously I wasn’t sure what the gaffer was going to be like to work with, but he’s been top drawer and all the staff have been great,” he said.
“It’s a nice club with a lot of good people. It’s not bells and whistles, but it’s good people going about their business and running it the best they can.
“Everyone has been welcoming and the lads have been good to work with.”
Duff has transformed Cheltenham from relegation battlers to promotion contenders, but Elliott says he remains as down to earth as ever.
“I think it comes from the way he was brought up, his family and being with his wife Jess since they were very young,” Elliott said.
“That has given him that grounding and it comes out in his management style.
“He has managed to keep his authenticity and it may sound simple, but that’s a good skill for any manager or coach to have because the players have a sense of the person he is and feed off that.
“They can trust and believe him and he gives off that vibe, which I think is one of his big skills.”
Cheltenham go into their Boxing Day home fixture against Stevenage in fourth place, well positioned for an assault on the top three during the remaining 24 games.
“I know I sound like the gaffer here, but nothing is decided at Christmas,” he said.
“We have to make sure we replicate that work again, otherwise all the effort so far will be meaningless, and that’s not me being a curmudgeon, but there is still a lot of work ahead.”