STEVE Cotterill arrives at Burnley intent on resurrecting his managerial credentials.

He is still a month short of his 40th birthday but has already built a reputation as one of the brightest bosses and coaches in the game.

And he now knows he needs to to re-establish himself as a management force at Turf Moor after a rocky ride in the past two seasons.

Cotterill has proved he can excel when battling against a tight budget, judging by the success he enjoyed when he left Irish minnows Sligo Rovers for home-town club Cheltenham Town in 1996.

In a five-year reign that would make him the club's most successful ever manager, he led The Robins to an FA Trophy success at Wembley as well as Dr Marten's League and Conference titles, before rocketing them into Division Two through the play-offs in 2002.

Cotterill then embarked on his first venture into Division One management with Stoke City - ambition clearly being the driving force.

And after only 13 games in charge at the Britannia Stadium, that relentless ambition kicked in again to lure him into the Premiership.

Cotterill became Howard Wilkinson's number two at Sunderland in what many saw as a surprise pairing, but just five months later they were shown the door as the Black Cats slid towards relegation from the top flight.

Undeterred, Cotterill added to his valuable Premiership experience last season when he joined the Leicester City coaching staff in a bid to stave off relegation.

But a return to managing in his own right has always been purely a matter of time.

Cotterill's managerial CV contrasts a modest playing career that also started at Cheltenham in 1983, where he spent four injury-disrupted years before moving first to Alvechurch and then Burton Albion.

He showed an ability to rise through the divisions when he progressed to a successful spell in the full time game with Wimbledon in Division One.

He then went on to Brighton and Hove Albion and Bournemouth, where he collected three Player of the Year awards before his career was cruelly cut short by a knee injury.

However, that proved the spur to pursue a career in management - and Burnley will now hope to be the beneficiaries.

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