Salford City have appointed Australian Peter Cklamovski as their new manager following the sacking of Karl Robinson.
The 47-year-old has taken up the post after a spell as the head coach of the Malaysian national team.
Before then, he worked as an understudy to former Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglu while the pair were at J-League title winners Yokohama F Marinos and coached in his home country, Australia.
He has built a reputation for an attack-minded style that captures the imagination of supporters and set records in the J-Leagues, alongside a track record of youth that the club’s hierarchy noted on his appointment.
“I’m here with a great opportunity to do something special, and it’s a great challenge,” said Cklamovski.
The owners have got lofty ambitions, the Club’s got big aspirations to achieve something special and that resonates with me.
“The way to do that and achieve success is together, and working hard daily together to grow the football club, and I’m looking forward to getting started on that.
“We want to build a mentality around the game where we fight for everything with passion, commitment, discipline, but get on the ball, be brave, be committed, and have that forward intent to score goals.
“We want to be aggressive, attacking, and we want to get our fans off their seats, get them jumping.
“That style is built off a daily process on the training pitch and a really clear training methodology that the players will enjoy, but work hard for and have that mindset to get better every day.
“I’m really passionate about that and the way we do that is do that together. That’s everyone at the Club, all the fans behind the players, and together we can achieve something special.”
CEO Gavin Fleig added: “We’re delighted to welcome Peter to Salford City. Peter brings an elite and diverse
experience to the club – delivering football that is proactive and on the front foot.
His clear principles, training process and attention to detail will bring control, possession with purpose, and relentless intensity on a matchday.
Peter has the drive, know-how and daily work ethic to raise standards, develop people and maximise the potential of our talented playing squad.
“He was the standout candidate following a rigorous process and we look forward to introducing Peter to our supporters.”
Chief Football Advisor Paul Scholes added: “Peter brings a style of football that we like to watch – exciting, attacking football. But he’s not just about scoring goals – he’s obsessed with keeping clean sheets too.
“He wants his teams to be ruthless and to have a clear identity – and that’s something that we’re excited to bring to the club.”
Peter’s career started in his native Australia where, after being forced to end an aspiring football career early, he worked in sport performance while completing postgraduate degrees in science and coaching fields.
He worked with Ange Postecoglu in the Australia youth system and the pair progressed to the senior team where they helped Australia to a first AFC Asian Cup title in between competing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and qualifying for the 2018
World Cup.
Following a spell in charge of the Australia Under-17 team, Peter rejoined Ange as Assistant Coach at Yokohama F. Marinos in 2018, where they led the Club to a first J1 League title in 15 years.
In his first steps of his own career, Peter became Head Coach at Shimizu S-Pulse before managing Montedio Yamagata, where his style was revered, and he took the J2 side from near-relegation to promotion contenders, with their best win percentage and points-per-game record.
That transformation earned him a move to top-flight side FC Tokyo, where again his style had a positive impact on the club as it attracted record attendances and enhanced Peter’s reputation.
2025 saw him return to the international stage as Head Coach of Malaysia, finishing the calendar year as one of the top international sides and rising to their highest FIFA ranking in more than 20 years.
With the relevant international paperwork completed, Peter will begin work in preparation for pre-season, which begins later this month.
