GAVIN STRACHAN, son of Scotland boss Gordon, has taken over as head coach of Evo-Stik NPL Premier side Ilkeston, confirming news reported first by Football Predictions.
The 36-year-old has spent the last four years coaching at Peterborough United, initially in the youth setup, before stepping up to assist then-boss Darren Ferguson.
Strachan enters his first head coach role but already holds the UEFA Pro License – the highest-level coaching qualification available.
He replaces Kevin Wilson who left the New Manor Ground at the end of the season after their play-off final defeat to Curzon Ashton.
Strachan said: “I’m really excited by the challenge. I’ve read a lot about Ilkeston over the last few months so know all about what they’re trying to achieve and it’s really appealing to me to be involved in.
“What struck me when I spoke to Nigel Harrop (chief executive) was that the club is run as professionally as possible with the majority of staff being full-time and that will help us attract better quality players.
“I love the idea of developing young players and was youth team coach at Peterborough as well as having lots of youngsters in the squad when I was involved with the first team.
“I was even aware of Che Adams purely because we were very keen to sign him! I’m used to working with players of the kind of age Ilkeston’s squad currently boasts and have a good idea of what they need to learn.
“When players are still so young you’re in a position where you can arm them with good habits in terms of technique, tactically and mentally, so I’ll be aiming to do that.”
