Russian side Terek Grozny have appointed former Spartak Moscow coach Stanislav Cherchesov as their new manager.
Cherchesov signed a two-year contract on Tuesday after lengthy discussions with the president of the club and the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, a spokesman told RIA Novosti.
The 48-year-old takes over the permanent post from Ruud Gullit, who left acrimoniously in June barely six months into his contract. Gullit was mandated with turning the minnows from the North Caucasus into serious title challengers within a year, but left after a string of poor results and a leading lively social life that angered club officials.
Terek are currently languishing in 11th position in the league, with 24 points from 25 games, and appear unlikely to achieve the top-eight finish that Kadyrov targeted for Gullit and his team.
They did however earn a creditable 2-2 draw away at local rivals Anzhi Makhachkala on Monday.
Isa Baitiev had fulfilled the caretaker manager role in the months since Gullit’s departure.
Cherchesov, who spent most of his playing career at Spartak - earning 39 international caps along the way - had his brightest coaching moment in 2007, when he led Spartak to the runner-up spot in the Russian Premier League. He was fired in 2008 over bad results.
Last December Cherchesov signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with newly promoted Zhemchuzhina-Sochi, but the club pulled out of the league because they couldn’t find a sponsor.
Cherchesov also had coaching spells in Austria with lower-tier clubs.
