A Chelsea and Arsenal legend has endured a nightmare start to his managerial career after his side were thumped 3-0 away from home.
Ashley Cole, 45, was announced as the new coach of Italian Serie B side Cesena FC on Sunday, after the club sacked previous manager Michele Mignani the day before.
But things took an ugly turn in his first game in the dugout since arriving at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi.
Cole’s side, who sat eighth in the Italian second division at the time of his arrival, travelled to face mid-table rivals Mantova on Tuesday.
Things got off to a disastrous start after Giovanni Zaro scored an own goal in just the sixth minute to give the hosts an early lead.
Cesena limped to half-time, but conceded a second goal in the 57th minute.
And to add insult to injury, Leonardo Mancuso capped off the embarrassing defeat with another in the third minute of injury time.
It was not the start to life in management that Cole was hoping for.
It is the former England legend’s first taste of senior management, having spent recent years refining his tactical mind as an assistant.
He assisted former team-mate Frank Lampard during his time in charge of Everton and Chelsea, before making the switch to Birmingham City, where he assisted another England icon in Wayne Rooney.
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He was also a part of Lee Carsley‘s staff, both in his capacity as England U21s coach and during his interim spell managing the senior team.
Now he has finally been given a shot as the main man, and has hired former Chelsea academy coach Jack Mesure to hopefully help him turn around his dire start to life in Italy.
He is signed to the club on a short-term deal, but the club has an option to extend his contract if he meets certain targets.
He will get his first chance to begin that process on Saturday when Cesena host US Catanzaro.
