The way Steve Cotterill planned it, by this time he’d have been managing against Premier League teams every week. Instead he leads League One Bristol City into Sunday’s live TV fourth-round FA Cup tie against West Ham rather glad to remind everybody he’s still around, and still producing teams that can win games. It was nearly 13 years ago that Cotterill  was the rising star of management. He’d taken his home town club Cheltenham from the Southern League to what is now League One, before moving to his first big club job at Stoke. Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill is preparing for the visit of West Ham in the FA Cup on Sunday . Just five months and 13 games later he walked out and went to work with Howard Wilkinson at Sunderland — and it’s been a topsy-turvy ride ever since. ‘I was impatient, I wanted to get to the top and I made bad decisions because of it,’ said Cotterill, 50. ‘But nobody quite knows the real reasons I walked away from Stoke. I didn’t have Peter Coates and Phil Rawlins running the club, I had the Icelandic owners. Even Tony Pulis left them. ‘I left after five months, but I should have left Stoke after five days. Then more people would have asked why.’ A younger Cotterill on the touchline as Stoke City manager in September 2002 . Cotterill celebrating leading Cheltenham to victory in the Division Three playoff final  in 2002 . The promise of following Wilkinson into the top job at Sunderland was never kept, and he ended up in charge of Burnley struggling in the Championship. ‘We had nothing but I made about 16million quid through cup runs and selling players. Then I couldn’t get 300 grand one day and I spat my dummy and left. Impatience again.’ From there it was Notts County, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest and then Bristol City. So has he found the club to get back to the big time? ‘The chairman has put £50m into the team, and is putting in another £40m to rebuild the stadium. ‘Bristol definitely could host a Premier League club — about 550,000 people live here. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to walk out of this one.’
Steve Cotterill would have been hoping to be Premier League boss by now .
Leads League One Bristol City in fourth round clash against West Ham .
Nearly 13 years since he was rising star of management at Cheltenham .
He has managed six sides since leaving his hometown club in 2002 .
The way Steve Cotterill planned it, by this time he’d have been managing against Premier League teams every week. Instead he leads League One Bristol City into Sunday’s live TV fourth-round FA Cup tie against West Ham rather glad to remind everybody he’s still around, and still producing teams that can win games. It was nearly 13 years ago that Cotterill  was the rising star of management. He’d taken his home town club Cheltenham from the Southern League to what is now League One, before moving to his first big club job at Stoke. Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill is preparing for the visit of West Ham in the FA Cup on Sunday . Just five months and 13 games later he walked out and went to work with Howard Wilkinson at Sunderland — and it’s been a topsy-turvy ride ever since. ‘I was impatient, I wanted to get to the top and I made bad decisions because of it,’ said Cotterill, 50. ‘But nobody quite knows the real reasons I walked away from Stoke. I didn’t have Peter Coates and Phil Rawlins running the club, I had the Icelandic owners. Even Tony Pulis left them. ‘I left after five months, but I should have left Stoke after five days. Then more people would have asked why.’ A younger Cotterill on the touchline as Stoke City manager in September 2002 . Cotterill celebrating leading Cheltenham to victory in the Division Three playoff final  in 2002 . The promise of following Wilkinson into the top job at Sunderland was never kept, and he ended up in charge of Burnley struggling in the Championship. ‘We had nothing but I made about 16million quid through cup runs and selling players. Then I couldn’t get 300 grand one day and I spat my dummy and left. Impatience again.’ From there it was Notts County, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest and then Bristol City. So has he found the club to get back to the big time? ‘The chairman has put £50m into the team, and is putting in another £40m to rebuild the stadium. ‘Bristol definitely could host a Premier League club — about 550,000 people live here. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to walk out of this one.’
he’d have been managing against Premier League FA Cup tie against West Ham rather glad to remind teams that can win games. It was nearly 13 years ago that Cotterill  was the rising star of now League One, before moving to his first big club job at Stoke. Bristol City manager Steve Stoke City manager in September 2002 . Cotterill