Bond in line for director of football job at Yeovil

FORMER Bristol Rovers coach Kevin Bond is being lined up as Yeovil Town’s new director of football, five months after he left the Memorial Stadium.

Bond was a key member of Joey Barton’s backroom staff over 15 months as a veteran presence in the dressing room and on the training ground and was often tasked with coaching the defence, having previously worked with the Gas manager when he was a player at QPR.

However, his exit was confirmed in October after Barton brought Danny Ventre to north Bristol over the summer with the Rovers boss citing the reasons as being due to “too many cooks in the building” and a need to streamline his backroom team.

Yeovil’s turbulent existence continues with the Glovers subject of a proposed takeover at the end of February by SU Glovers Limited, a company set up by mother and son Julie-Anne and Matt Uggla with former England rugby union international Paul Sackey also involved.

The Ugglas have been named “stewards” of the National League strugglers with Scott Priestnall still listed as owner on the club’s website and an active director on Companies House, as the takeover has yet to be formerly completed despite Matt Uggla stating last week that he expected to own the club by Monday morning.

In a series of Twitter posts on Sunday night, the owner-in-waiting revealed the Glovers were soon to welcome a new director of football. That was followed on Monday by a tweet in which he said: “Kevin Bond in the door what a man.” There has been no official confirmation by Yeovil over the appointment.

Bond worked as a coach at Rovers, QPR, Tottenham, Portsmouth and Southampton, and manager at Bournemouth and Southend United but has never held a director of football position. A move to Somerset would also reunite the 65-year-old with former Gas CEO

Martyn Starnes, who has been in the same role at Huish Park since October.

Bond has spent a significant part of his coaching career working under Harry Redknapp, who was a guest of Yeovil’s new stewards at Huish Park earlier this month for their league clash against Eastleigh.

On Saturday, in the wake of a 1-0 defeat to Bromley which has left Yeovil 20th in the National League, manager Mark Cooper admitted Matt Uggla was leading the club’s recruitment operation.