Bristol City appoint Gerhard Struber

Bristol City have officially announced Gerhard Struber as their new head coach on a three-year-deal.

Struber's appointment comes just two weeks after Liam Manning announced he would be leaving the club to join Norwich City.

Manning was a popular figure at Ashton Gate, guiding the club to an unlikely Championship playoff semi-final run last season, but Robins fans can now look forward to a new era under 46-year-old Struber.

The Austrian manager was last in charge of Cologne where he took the German outfit to the brink of 2. Bundesliga promotion before a patchy run signalled the end of his time in the dugout. Prior to his exploits in Germany, Struber had a spell managing under the Red Bull umbrella with spells in New York and Salzburg.

Fans of English football however will remember the Austrian for his time in charge of Barnsley, where Struber guided a very inexperienced Tykes side to Championship safety after being handed the job with the club in a very precarious position - seven points adrift from safety.

In an official Bristol City club statement, Struber said: “I am very excited for the job here with great fans and a great team. I’m looking forward to a new task.

“The style of play here fits completely, especially developing young players.

“This is a very interesting group, and I think they did a great job last season and were very successful. Right now is the time to build and do everything we can to take us to the next level."

Gerhard Struber's managerial career so far

During his time at Oakwell, Struber carved out a reputation for being able to develop young players with Mads Andersen, Alex Mowatt, Jacob Brown and Cauley Woodrow all thriving under his tutelage.

Fans of the Robins can then feel excited about the prospect of Struber being placed in charge of the development of Sinclair Armstrong, Haydon Roberts and Josh Stokes.

Whilst his use of young talent grabbed the headlines, Barnsley also benefited from Struber's meticulous approach to set piece situations. Bristol City floated around the Championship average when it came to registering shot creating action from dead ball situations, so any improvement that the incoming boss can offer should see a spike in that metric.

William Dobbie

• Bristol City F.C.
• Manager News
• • 
  •