Brighton and Hove Albion under-18s coach Inigo Calderon has been appointed head of League One strugglers Bristol Rovers.
The 42-year-old Spaniard replaces Matt Taylor, who left Rovers earlier this month with the club hovering just above the relegation zone.
Rovers director of football George Friend said: “I am delighted to welcome Inigo to the club and have him on board as our new head coach.
“Inigo is someone I have followed for a long time, both as a player and as a coach, and he already has a thorough understanding of English football and the culture of the game here.”
Calderon spent six and a half years at Brighton, joining the club at the tail end of the Withdean era under Gus Poyet.
In his second season at the club, he was part of the side that won promotion as League One champions in 2010-11.
He played in the first Championship match at the newly opened Amex Stadium as Albion beat against Doncaster Rovers 2-1. It was 14 years after the two sides met in the final match at the Goldstone.
Calderon not only has his coaching badge but a sports science degree and a masters in sports psychology. He is also a qualified teacher.
He joined the coaching staff at his hometown club Alaves, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, before moving to Brighton in June last year to take coach the under-18s.
After watching the Gasheads lose 3-1 at Exeter on Boxing Day yesterday, Calderon said: “I have similar feelings to the feelings that I had when I went to Brighton as a player.
“We were fighting in League One against relegation but there was something really good coming out around the club, the stadium and the training ground.
“Everything around the club here I think is in a good place and I have all good feelings.”
His first test comes on Sunday (29 December) when Rovers travel to Stevenage, with the hosts four points ahead on 26 and three places higher in the table in 16th.
He added: “It’s important when a coach comes. All the players are a bit more on it.”
Calderon, who has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Rovers, made almost 200 appearances for Brighton as a player before his switch to coaching.
