Working with Postecoglou and following the data - Salford's new boss Cklamovski

Working with Postecoglou and following the data - Salford's new boss CklamovskiImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, FC Tokyo's average attendances rose to 34,000 during Peter Cklamovski's time at the clubBySimon StoneChief football news reporterPublished18 June 2026, 09:19 BSTUpdated 7 minutes agoSalford City's surprise decision to appoint Peter Cklamovski as their new manager on a long-term contract has its origins in Japan, eight years ago.Cklamovski might be relatively unknown to the English game, but he was very well known to Salford's chief executive.Gavin Fleig joined the League Two club in October 2025, after 17 years under the City Football Group umbrella, the last seven as director of talent management.It meant he came across scores of coaches and managers at CFG's 12 clubs. Among them was an Australian coach, who was impressing as understudy to Ange Postecoglou at the J-League title winners Yokohama F Marinos.Postecoglou's journey since - Celtic, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest - is well documented. Cklamovski's - Shimizu S-Pulse, Montedio Yamagata, FC Tokyo and the Malaysia national team - less so. But the 47-year-old Australian has impressed, both in terms of results and an expansive style of play.It was always in Fleig's mind to get in touch if ever he was in a position to appoint a head coach or manager.When Salford decided to remove Karl Robinson following their League Two play-off final defeat by Notts County last month, he put Cklamovski's name forward."You go through the normal processes," said Fleig. "What does the data say? What does our market network say? What do our contacts say? Who comes to the table when there's a vacancy and wants the job?"Through all those steps and everyone we've spoken to, Peter was the outstanding candidate on all the metrics that are important to us."Cklamovski was impressing with Malaysia and was about to begin preparations for a...