Leeds United: Five things to know about Rob Kelly

The Brummie played for Leicester and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the eighties and also had brief spells at Tranmere Rovers and Burton Albion before starting out on a coaching and managerial career.

Here’s five things to know about Kelly.

1: Kelly was forced to retire from playing at the age of just 24 due to a back injury. He initially took the job of youth team coach at Molineux but later trained as a journalist at the Wolverhampton Express & Star before returning to coaching at the Black Country outfit.

2: Kelly has played for and managed Leicester. The Midlander was given the role of assistant manager with the Foxes under Craig Levein and when the Scot got sacked after 18 months in charge in January 2006, Kelly stepped-in to be caretaker manager.

He impressed, steering the club to 21 points from a possible 30 in his first ten games in charge, which took the Foxes up and away from the relegation spots. He won the Championship manager of the month award in March 2006 and did sufficiently well enough to earn a one-year rolling contract in April 2006.

He couldn’t replicate his run of results when he was confirmed as full-time manager and was sacked due to a poor run of results a year later in April 2007. He was replaced by Nigel Worthington for the remainder of the season.

3: Kelly went on to a coaching role at Preston North End before becoming assistant boss to Alan Irvine at Sheffield Wednesday. Following Irvine’s departure from the Owls, he was given the same role under Steve McLaren at Nottingham Forest.

In all three of those roles, he went on to be caretaker manager, with each manager getting the sack. Most notably, he helped Preston to a 7-0 FA Cup win over Colchester United in his only game in caretaker charge.

4: Kelly had a spell working alongside Irvine as joint-assistant head coach at top-flight side West Brom last season before the Scot was sacked and replaced by Tony Pulis.

Speaking about Kelly on his appointment, Irvine said: “He’s got an opinion about the way the game should be played and how it should be coached – and that’s really important. I don’t want people who just say ‘yes’ all the time.

“I need people who will tell me what they think and then ultimately the decision is mine.”

Kelly left the Hawthorns along with Keith Downing and Dean Kiely shortly after Pulis took charge of the Baggies in January.

5: Kelly has also spent spells as a youth team coach at Watford and as academy director at Blackburn Rovers. He is also a graduate of the League Manager Association’s Certificate in Applied Management at Warwick University.