FC Halifax Town 1 Cheltenham 7: Shocking start for new Shaymen chief

Kelly was appointed on Thursday, although youth coach Steve Nichol selected the side.

Former Oldham chief Kelly admits there is a lot of work to do ahead of tomorrow night’s trip to Altrincham.

“I’ve learnt a lot about the team, and I’m included in that because we all take responsibility,” he said.

“I haven’t worked with the team yet. Today is the first time I’ve seen them but that doesn’t get away from the fact that today was an embarrassing result.

“We all have to reflect on that and respond positively to that. We’ll be in training on Monday and doing a lot of work to prepare for Tuesday.”

The rot set in after 12 minutes when Jack Munns latched onto a through ball by Danny Wright and lifted the ball over the onrushing Matt Glennon.

Cheltenham were pegged back when Kingsley James turned in Josh Macdonald’s cross but regained the lead when Rob Dickie set-up Amari Morgan-Smith, who lofted the ball over Glennon.

Cheltenham’s third saw Munns’s cross from the left go straight in and Harry Pell ran through on goal and side-footed in the fourth before substitute Billy Waters smashed the ball in from Morgan-Smith’s deft pass.

Munns sealed his hat-trick with a curling shot and finished the humiliation from the spot after he was fouled by James Bolton.

FC Halifax Town: Glennon, K Roberts, Brown, Banton, Bolton, Macdonald (Tuton 68), Racchi (Walker 68), James, Bencherif (Hattersley 68), Hughes, Burrow. Unused substitutes: Porter, Hibbs.

Cheltenham: Phillips, Barthram (Vaughan 66), Downes, Parslow, McLennan, Pell (Waters 71), Storer (Hall 72), Munns, Dickie, Wright, Morgan-Smith. Unused substitutes: Kitscha, Rowe.

Referee: R Johnson (Manchester).

Man of the match: Jack Munns.