the previous season. Seven first team players left the club in his first three months in charge. Slade became unpopular with a large section of supporters and crowd numbers fell dramatically during his tenure at the club as he finished 11th in his first season and 8th in his second. Despite his detractors, Slade insisted that the club had made progress under his stewardship and that he had "given the club stability". On 6 May 2016, Slade was removed from his position of manager and was instead named the club's head of football. He took charge of his last match for the Bluebirds on the final day of the 2015–16 season, drawing 1–1 with Birmingham City. Paul Trollope, a member of Slade's coaching staff was appointed as the new head coach of the club but did not report to Slade on any first team matters. However, he resigned from the role on 3 June. Charlton Athletic On 6 June 2016, Slade signed a three-year contract to be manager of Charlton Athletic following their relegation to League One. On 14 November 2016 with the club in 15th place, the club announced that it had "parted company" with him having won just five of the 21 games in all competitions of the season. Coventry City On 21 December 2016, Slade signed a contract till the end of the season to be manager of Coventry City. Slade joined with the club sitting 23rd in the League One table amid protests by fans against the owners of the club. His first game in charge was a 4–1 defeat to Bristol Rovers on 26 December 2016. In February 2017, he led Coventry to the final of the EFL Trophy after beating Wycombe Wanderers in the semi-final at the Ricoh Arena. The last minute equaliser by AFC Wimbledon on 14 February 2017, meant that Russell Slade had equalled the record set by Noel Cantwell of nine games without a win at the start their reign as Coventry City manager. Slade managed to gain his first league victory at the tenth attempt in a 2–1 home victory over Gillingham; this victory also ended Coventry's 15 match winless streak. He was sacked on 5 March 2017. He had managed Coventry for 16 games of which they won only three. Grimsby Town (second spell) On 12 April 2017, Slade was appointed manager of Grimsby Town for the second time.