Luton Town Football Club is pleased to confirm that manager Rob Edwards has finalised his immediate support team with the appointment of two assistant-managers to work alongside the existing football staff.
Vastly experienced former Bristol Rovers and Cardiff City boss Paul Trollope has joined up with his former Wales team-mate, while Richie Kyle will work closely with Edwards again after spells together in the England youth set-up and at Forest Green Rovers and Watford.
Trollope, 50, made almost 500 appearances during a playing career that took in spells at Torquay United, Derby County, Coventry City and Northampton Town. The midfielder also won nine Welsh caps between 1997 and 2003, when Edwards featured in the same international squads.
A five-year stint as manager at Bristol Rovers, where he finished his playing days, saw Trollope win promotion from League Two and reach Wembley in the JPT final. He was the seventh longest-serving manager in the EFL at the time of his departure from the Memorial Stadium in 2010.
Since then he has been Chris Hughton’s assistant at Birmingham City, Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion – where they won promotion to the Premier League – and at Nottingham Forest until September 2021.
While on the coaching staff at Cardiff City in 2015-16, Trollope was also part of Chris Coleman’s Wales' staff in the build-up to, and during their run to the semi-finals of the European Championships before being named Bluebirds boss on his return from France.
Kyle, 38, was Edwards’ number two at both Forest Green and Watford, with the pair having worked together for the Football Association as in-possession and out-of-possession specialist coaches with England U16s and U20s.
They had first met through Edwards’ links to former playing club Blackpool, where Kyle was Under-18s coach and head of coaching before progressing to first team level, helping the Seasiders to promotion from League Two at the Hatters’ expense in 2016-17.
Still living in the area, Edwards shadowed Kyle and helped him coach the Seasiders’ youth team in the months after retiring as a player.
Kyle, who had started coaching part-time in Everton and Blackburn’s academies, had a brief spell as Canadian women’s national team assistant manager in 2021 before returning to this country to help Edwards lead Forest Green to the League Two title.
We welcome both Paul and Richie, who together with Rob will meet the players for the first time today as they return to The Brache after their World Cup break.
The trio will have quality time to get to know their squad as they head off for a six-day warm weather training camp on Saturday, before returning to play a behind-closed-doors friendly against Championship opposition on Saturday 3rd December in preparation for the EFL restart.