the new manager of Botev Plovdiv, emphasising that his new duties will not in any way affect his commitment to the national team. The sudden financial troubles of the club, however, led to the quick termination of his contract in early July after only one game (4–0 home victory against Libertas at the first qualifying round for UEFA Europa League). On 8 July 2014, Penev left Botev Plovdiv after just one game to focus on the Bulgaria National Team. On 20 November 2014, Penev was sacked by Bulgaria National Team following a run of poor results that culminated in a frustrating 1–1 home draw with Malta. In late April 2015, Penev took over as coach of former club CSKA Sofia until the end of the season, replacing Galin Ivanov after the club had found itself in a difficult situation due to a string of unsuccessful performances that had started at the beginning of 2015. On 22 January 2016 it was announced that he is going to manage Litex Lovech for a second time. The team was lately expelled from A Group, but had matches for the Bulgarian Cup until end of the season. In late September 2016, national team coach Ivaylo Petev agreed to a managerial contract with Dinamo Zagreb and therefore resigned. Many of the top national team players have spoken out in favour of Penev being reappointed as a national team coach - this is due to his tough and successful coaching. Many players such as Stanislav Manolev (who was, however, released from CSKA Sofia in 2019 while Penev was the manager) have stated that Bulgaria has been at their best in many recent years under coach Penev, as he is tough and very tactically mindful of the game and knows exactly what to do to bring the Bulgarian national team back to its original status as a side competitive with the European powerhouses in football. He was appointed as manager of CSKA Sofia for a third time on 8 February 2019, but resigned in early May due to disagreements with the club's board. On 30 April 2020, Penev took over as head coach of Tsarsko Selo Sofia. He managed to secure the team's place in the top flight of Bulgarian football. On 28 May 2022, he was officially announced as the new manager of CSKA 1948. Career statistics Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score