Former Reading assistant manager Rob Kelly has joined Bolton Wanderers as assistant coach after leaving the Royals earlier this summer.
The 61-year-old spent six months at Reading alongside manager Leam Richardson, helping guide the club to a mid-table finish in League One last season.
Kelly has now reunited with Bolton head coach Steven Schumacher, having left Reading to return to Lancashire for family reasons.
The pair previously worked together at Bury, where they helped the club secure promotion from League Two in 2019.
Kelly brings decades of coaching experience to Bolton, having held senior coaching and management roles across the English Football League, Premier League and European football.
His coaching career has included spells at Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, Fleetwood Town, Wigan Athletic, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday, while he also worked overseas with Malmö, Fortuna Düsseldorf and AGF Aarhus.
As a manager, Kelly led Barrow to safety in the Football League in 2021 and also took charge of Leicester City in the Championship during the 2006-07 season.
Bolton, who won promotion to the Championship last season, believe Kelly’s experience will strengthen their coaching team ahead of the new campaign.
Schumacher said Kelly had played a significant role in his own development as a coach.
“Rob is somebody I’ve known and respected in coaching for a long time now and he has been a huge part of my coaching journey,” he said.
“He was part of the staff at Bury when I first came into the first-team environment and I learned so much from him.”
Schumacher said Kelly’s experience at Championship level would be invaluable.
“Going into the Championship, having a senior member of staff who has been there, seen it and done it, and worked at the top level, is good for me, Mark Hughes and Richie Kyle, who are all young coaches.
“He’s a brilliant addition to our coaching staff and I’m glad to have him.”
He added: “He’s a great fella with a great personality, and there aren’t too many people in the game who’ll have a bad word to say about Rob Kelly.
“I’m pleased to bring him onto the coaching staff and, for me, he’s the perfect appointment at this stage in my career.”
