Bolton Wanderers are delighted to confirm the appointment of Steven Schumacher as the Club’s new Head Coach.
Schumacher – a previous League One Manager of the Year – has agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract to take charge at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
The 40-year-old arrives with a track record as one of the brightest young coaches in the EFL, having previously guided Plymouth to the League One title and also worked at Championship level as manager of Stoke City.
Club Chairman Sharon Brittan said: “I am delighted that we have secured the services of Steven on a long-term contract to become our new Head Coach and we warmly welcome him to Bolton Wanderers.
“Steven is the ideal candidate to carry on the excellent work previously done by Ian Evatt and his staff and build on the legacy put in place by them over the last few years. We are all excited for this next stage of our journey.
“I would also like to thank Julian Darby, the coaching staff and players who have successfully bridged the gap over the past two games to help give Steven the platform to make his own mark at our wonderful club.”
Schumacher said: “This means everything to me. It's a fantastic opportunity and I'm really grateful to be given it by Sharon and the ownership group. It's a fantastic club with a rich history and the journey and the project here is something I can't wait to get involved with.
“It's been an interesting career journey for me so far and I'm now at a fantastic club, a club which I believe can go on and do great things this season and in the future.
“I’m walking into a group which still has an awful lot to play for this season. It’s not too often you get given an opportunity like this with a team that’s only outside the play-offs on goal difference.
“That's credit to what Ian (Evatt) did and I'm quite lucky to come into a group that's in good form. The work this week that Julian (Darby), Andy Taylor and Andrew Tutte have done has been incredible. The lads have got two really good results and hopefully we can go and get a third good result at the weekend.
“The message to the lads will be to go and be themselves, play with confidence and hopefully we can get a few results on the board and keep this season going in the way we want it to go and achieve the objectives the club is desperate to do.”
Schumacher started out in management with a first senior role at Plymouth Argyle in December, 2021 and by the end of the season he had taken Plymouth up to seventh place in League One.
Despite amassing 80 points that wasn’t enough to secure a play-off place but in his first full season in charge, the Liverpudlian led the Pilgrims to promotion as title winners with over 100 points in May, 2023.
That success – as well as guiding Plymouth to the final of the EFL Trophy and a Wembley loss to Wanderers – saw him named 2022/23 League One Manager of the Year.
Schumacher then began to establish Argyle in the Championship, with Plymouth 16th in the table when he left Home Park to join Stoke City in December, 2023.
Taking over a Stoke side without a win in eight games and 19th in the Championship table, Schumacher revived the Potters to secure their Championship status last season. With just three defeats in their final 12 games, he led Stoke to safety and a 17th-place finish before leaving the Bet365 Stadium last September despite securing four wins from the Potters’ first seven games.
Following a lengthy playing career which brought the midfielder almost 500 senior appearances – and promotions with Crewe Alexandra, Bury and Fleetwood Town – Schumacher started his coaching career back in the Academy at Everton, where he had started out as a young player in a team that reached the FA Youth Cup final in 2002.
Schumacher then returned to another former club in Bury as first-team coach in January, 2018 and played a key role as the Shakers were promoted from League Two in 2019 under manager Ryan Lowe.
Lowe was appointed Plymouth manager in June, 2019, taking Schumacher with him to Devon where the pair enjoyed immediate success in leading the Pilgrims to promotion from League Two in their first season in charge.
Following Lowe’s subsequent departure to Preston North End, Schumacher pushed Plymouth on further, following the near miss in 2022 with promotion and title glory 12 months later to establish himself as a young manager going places.
Schumacher will take charge of Wanderers for the first time at Reading on Saturday - with the support of Julian Darby and Andrew Taylor - with further announcements regarding the club’s new backroom staff to follow in due course.
Watch Steven Schumacher's first interview as Head Coach later this evening on Wanderers TV