Russell Slade

However a remarkable run of 39 points from the final 19 games of the season meant Scarborough finished 12th.

Russell Mark Slade (born 10 October 1960) is an English former professional football manager and coach.

Having had an extended career at reserve team level, Slade entered professional sports coaching with Notts County in 1993.

He briefly took charge of the club as caretaker manager during the 1994–95 season.

Slade was assistant manager to Mick Walker at Notts County, and took over as caretaker manager when Walker was sacked in September 1994.

When County appointed Howard Kendall as manager in January 1995, Slade stayed on as his assistant.

Slade was then appointed manager of Midland Alliance side Armitage, then moving on to Southern Football League side Leicester United before having two separate spells as caretaker manager at Sheffield United.

Slade's first permanent managerial post was at Football Conference side Scarborough.

Slade then had spells in charge of non-league sides Armitage and Leicester United before joining the coaching staff of Sheffield United in 1997.

He had two spells as caretaker manager of The Blades in 1998 and 1999 before the appointment of Neil Warnock.

In 2001, he took over the managerial post at Conference National side Scarborough before later moving to Grimsby Town in 2004 and Yeovil Town in 2006.

When he arrived in November 2001 the club was adrift at the bottom of the Conference and looking doomed.

His first match in charge resulted in a home win over Farnborough Town but the next three games yielded just one point.

He was hailed as a hero by the fans and his stock rose when taking the team to 4th position by Christmas in the 2002–03 season.

In January 2003, two days after the club went into administration, Slade tendered his resignation.

The fans presented a tearful Slade with a petition at the next game and on the Monday morning he changed his mind.

The following season saw mixed league performances, but a tremendous FA Cup run which saw victories over Hinckley United, Doncaster Rovers, Port Vale, and finally Southend United following a replay, meant a glamorous home tie in front of Premier League Chelsea.

Despite losing 1–0 Slade's side had put up a tremendous battle.

At the end of the 2003–04 season, Grimsby Town decided not to renew the contract of manager Nicky Law following relegation into League Two.

Slade was appointed as their new manager.

A mid-table finish ensued in the 2004–05 season but despite some disgruntled fans calling for his head, Grimsby spent most of the 2005–06 season in an automatic promotion spot in League Two, also managing to topple both Derby County and Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup.

Town eventually finished the season in 4th place and had to settle for the playoffs, following a late Northampton Town equaliser meant that Leyton Orient would finish the season in the final automatic promotion places.

Despite guiding his team to a semi-final victory over local rivals Lincoln City, Slade was unable to secure promotion, Grimsby losing 1–0 in the final against Cheltenham Town in the Millennium Stadium.

Slade's success with Grimsby had attracted League One side Yeovil Town, and Slade was appointed as the Somerset club's new manager.

Slade led Yeovil to a surprise 5th-place finish play-off finish in the league, where they defeated favourites Nottingham Forest to reach the play-off final.

However, Yeovil lost the final against Blackpool 2–0.

Slade's successful first season at Yeovil saw him win the League One manager of the year award, and he was targeted by League One rivals Carlisle United and Millwall for their managerial positions but this interest was rejected by Yeovil chairman John Fry.

He was appointed manager of Brighton & Hove Albion in 2009 but the stay was brief and he was dismissed in November 2009.

Slade left his post at Yeovil on 16 February 2009, despite having won four consecutive matches immediately prior to this.

Slade had become frustrated with the club's lack of ambition, although the club chairman John Fry had previously stated that changes would be needed due to the current economic climate.

On 6 March 2009, Slade was appointed manager of struggling Brighton & Hove Albion until the end of the season, and succeeded in ensuring they avoided relegation from League One by beating Stockport 1–0 in the final game.

Slade signed a further two-year contract at Brighton in May 2009.

In 2010, Slade was appointed manager of Leyton Orient and he led the club to two 7th-place finishes, an FA Cup fifth round replay against Arsenal and took the O's to the Play-off Final in 2013–14 – a feat which saw win the LMA League 1 Manager of the Year award.

Slade was appointed manager of Leyton Orient on 5 April 2010, six matches before the end of the season.

He left Orient to take charge of Championship side Cardiff City, and spent two years in charge of the side, finishing in 11th and 8th positions, before being appointed the club's head of football.

He resigned from the role after only two weeks and, in June 2016, was appointed manager of Charlton Athletic.

He then went on to manage Coventry City, before returning to Grimsby Town once again between 2017 and 2018.

His final managerial role to date was with non-league side Hereford, whom he departed in 2020.

Slade developed a reputation for being an effective man manager, and a very savvy operator within the transfer market who never bought a player whilst at Leyton Orient, instead bringing in a number of players on free transfers.

Slade started out as a PE teacher at Frank Wheldon School after studying Sport at Edge Hill University.