Foster's unusual route to Argyle's top job

HEAD COACH KEEN TO REPLICATE COOPER'S SUCCESS WITH FOREST

- CHRIS ERRINGTON

STEVE Cooper and Rob Edwards have blazed a trail for young coaches to work for The Football Association as England age group managers and then make a successful transition to the club game at a very high level.

Both were in charge of Premier League sides until Cooper was recently fired by Nottingham Forest, but Edwards continues to work wonders at Luton Town. Ian Foster is now following a similar path to them after his appointment as Plymouth Argyle’s head coach on a contract until the summer of 2027.

Father-of-one Foster has taken the plunge with the Pilgrims in the Championship after a six-month spell as the assistant to Liverpool and England legend Steven Gerrard at Saudi Professional League side Ettifaq FC.

He said: “I only heard really positive things about the ownership, about the board, how they treat their staff, about the feel of the football club in terms of the culture and the environment, and how they make their staff and their wider families feel, which is really important to me.

“Having experienced it before, I know it’s a really passionate football club with a wonderful fanbase. The opportunity to be a head coach in the Championship is not to be sniffed at for any coach and it just ticked every single box really for me.”

Foster’s CV includes leading England under-17s to victory at the World Cup in 2017 and taking charge of the under-19s when they won the 2022 European Championship.

Cooper and Edwards had similar backgrounds working with England age group teams and it is no surprise to Foster they have gone on to achieve what they have done in club football.