Cheltenham Town sacks manager Michael Flynn after dreadful start to season

Cheltenham Town have parted ways with manager Michael Flynn after a dreadful start to the season, the club announced Sunday. A 3-0 defeat at home to Oldham Athletic on Saturday left the Robins at the foot of League Two with seven losses in nine league matches this campaign.

Flynn, 44, departs the club after 16 months in charge, having compiled a 25-13-30 record across 68 games in all competitions. The Robins, who finished 15th in League Two last season, were taken over last month by former Burnley chairman Mike Garlick. In a club statement, Cheltenham Town said Flynn’s departure followed today’s defeat and thanked him for his efforts during his time with the club.

Speaking after the Oldham defeat, Flynn acknowledged the writing might be on the wall. “Performances like that get you the sack, I can't be any more honest than that,” he told BBC Radio Gloucestershire. “I can take responsibility for certain things, but I'm not just going to blame myself for that performance today from that group of players. (That performance was) nowhere near good enough and unacceptable.”

When pressed on his future, Flynn added: “I hope not, because I really love this club and enjoy working here. But it is a results business and I'm not stupid. I'm someone that is going to come out here and speak open and honest, whether that is good or bad. And things have to improve. And if I still am [in charge] they have to improve quick.”

Cheltenham’s decline has continued since their relegation back to League Two ahead of the 2024-25 season after three seasons in the third tier. The club was taken over by Garlick last month, who had publicly backed Flynn to turn things around. “I've been in football a long time, I've had other managers that have been beaten five times in a row and we've stuck with them and turned it around – that's what we're hoping to do,” Garlick said at the time. “We've got to turn things around, I think Mike's the man to do that. Let's get behind him and make him do that.” Nevertheless, Cheltenham lost four of their subsequent six games in all competitions and now sit bottom of the EFL.

The developments come as Cheltenham continue to navigate a challenging start to the season, with questions likely to follow about the club's next managerial steps as they attempt to climb out of the relegation zone.