Ex-Ange Postecoglou assistant emerges as surprise contender for Salford City job

Australian manager Peter Cklamovski has reportedly become a contender to take over as Salford City boss.

Cklamovski, who is currently in charge of the Malaysian national team, is a former assistant of Ange Postecoglou.

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The 47-year-old worked alongside ex-Tottenham and Nottingham Forest manager Postecoglou during his time with Yokohama F Marinos and with Australia.

He helped his compatriot lead the Japanese side to their first J1 League title for the first time in 15 years in 2019.

Cklamovski could now potentially be heading to England, just like Postecoglou, to take over League Two side Salford City, according to The Telegraph.

Salford are on the lookout for a new boss after opting to sack manager Karl Robinson just a week after play-off defeat.

‘Class of 92’ investors Gary Neville and David Beckham were left disappointed last season, with their side losing to Notts County at Wembley and missing out on promotion to League One.

Robinson had been in charge since 2024, but he was dismissed, opening the door for a new boss to come in this summer.

And Cklamovski appears to be in the running, in somewhat of a shock piece of news, considering his managerial past.

Cklamovski’s coaching career

After assisting Postecoglou with Yokohama F Marinos and Australia, his first job as a head coach was with the Australian Under-17 side in 2017, before going on to spend the following seven years in Japan.

He was in the hot seat as manager of Shimizu S-Pulse, Montedio Yamagata and FC Tokyo from 2020 through to 2024.

With Shimizu S-Pulse, he only won three of 28 in charge, losing 20, while at Montedio Yamagata, he coached his side to 37 wins in his 81 games as boss, only losing 27 times.

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Then, with FC Tokyo, he picked up 27 victories in 65 total matches.

In December 2024, Cklamovski was appointed as manager of Malaysia, as he switched back to international football again.

But since taking over, he has won just three of his nine games in the dugout, losing six, including all of his first five in charge with a scoreline of 3-0.

Ange’s opinion

Postecoglou discussed the work ethic and commitment that his former assistant Cklamovski would bring to any job last year.

“With Pete, he’s not going to leave any stone unturned in trying to make sure that he makes an impact,” he told Stadium Astro.

“He won’t settle for anything second best or being just good enough…I’ve had him work alongside me and he’s a very ambitious guy, a very driven guy, he’ll work day and night.”

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Postecoglou continued: “He wants the players and all the staff to be very clear that the target is being the best you can possibly be.

“He won’t care how big a challenge is, he’ll roll his sleeves up and make sure that everyone that works with him has only one goal.”

The Europa League-winning ex-Spurs boss was speaking about Cklamovski in relation to his job with Malaysia.

However, Salford may look at those characteristics and think they want him at the helm for another promotion push.

The Ammies have finished inside the top 10 in League Two four times in the last six years, but haven’t been able to gain promotion.

So, if appointed, Cklamovski’s role will be to take the club one step further than Robinson last season and reach League One.