Robbie Savage appointed new manager of National League club
Robbie Savage has been appointed as the new manager of National League side Forest Green.
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The 50-year-old replaces Steve Cotterill, who was sacked last week after missing out on promotion back to the Football League.
Forest Green were knocked out in the play-off semi-finals by Southend and have now turned to former Wales international Savage to get them back into League Two.
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Ex-Leicester, Birmingham and Blackburn midfielder Savage took over as Macclesfield boss last June, four years after he became a board member at the newly-established club.
Savage, who has also made a name for himself as an outspoken pundit since retiring as a player, oversaw several promotions as director of football before leading Macclesfield to promotion to National League North in his first year as manager.
Savage signed a new two-year deal with the Silkmen in May but has now opted to move on.
He will get to work immediately, taking training on Tuesday as the team prepare for pre-season.
He told the club website: "I feel I have an opportunity to develop a squad to create an attacking brand of football - an aggressive form of football to try and get Forest Green back into the EFL.
"I want a fast, exciting style, but the most important thing is to win games."
Forest Green owner and chairman Dale Vince said: "I think Robbie could be the missing piece in the jigsaw. But in a jigsaw you could have 100 pieces and that one piece makes the whole 100 sing. That's what Robbie is.
"It's a great fit between him and me, between the club we are and want to be. He's transparent and very much not an old-school football manager in his approach.
"He's done at well at Macclesfield and there's all kinds of ingredients in hiring him but first and foremost, it's about him as a person and what he brings to the club.
"I think we can expect an energetic, positive personality. An attacking, fighting style of football, we will absolutely get results and we're going to have fun."