Following the departure from Plainmoor of Gary Owers, Torquay United reacted swiftly to appoint Gary Johnson as his replacement.
Johnson, 62, arrives at the Gulls after being dismissed as manager of Cheltenham Town after the opening four games of the 2018-19 campaign - which brought the curtain down on three-year spell in charge at Whaddon Road.
During the course of those three years, Johnson guided the Robins back into the Football League by winning the National League title at the first attempt in the 2016-17 campaign. They became the first team to win promotion back into the Football League at the first attempt as champions since Darlington in the 1990-91 season.
However, Johnson's achievements as a manager don't end there. His managerial career started with non-league Newmarket Town in the mid-1980's before he was persuaded to enter the professional game as reserve team manager with Cambridge United by the then U's manager John Beck in 1988.
He was part of the U's coaching staff during Cambridge's rise from the 'old' Fourth Division to the brink of the top-flight in the late 1980's and early 1990's and he had a spell in charge at the Abbey Stadium between 1993 and 1995.
A spell in charge of Kettering Town and Watford's youth academy followed before he was appointed as manager of Latvia in 1999. Johnson remained in charge of the Baltic state for two years and he recommended Marian Pahars and Igor Stepanovs to Southampton and Arsenal respectively; he also came into contact with Andrejs Stolcers, who would later play under him at Yeovil Town.
On his return to England, Johnson took charge at Huish Park in 2001 - following the departure of Colin Addison - and in his first season at the helm he led the Glovers to FA Trophy glory with a 2-0 win over Stevenage at Villa Park.
The following season, he ended Yeovil's 108-year stay in non-league football as the Glovers won the Nationwide Conference title - with a record winning margin of 17 points - to secure a long-awaited promotion to the Football League.
Once back in the Football League, the Glovers proved they weren't just there to make up the numbers as they finished 8th in the debut campaign in Division Three, as they missed out on the play-offs on goal difference with 74 points.
In the 2004-05 season, Yeovil built on their promising first season by winning the title of the newly rebranded League Two with a final day win over Lincoln City, and scored 90 goals in the process.
In September 2005, Johnson was on the move again as he left Huish Park to manage Bristol City following the departure of Brian Tinnion. The Robins would finish the 2005-06 campaign in 9th place in League One, but they would finish the subsequent 2006-07 season as runners-up.
His success with Bristol City was achieved with a core of players who played under him at both Huish Park and Ashton Gate, including goalkeeper Chris Weale, central defender Liam Fontaine, midfielders Lee Johnson - his son - and Michael McIndoe and striker Phil Jevons.
Once back in the Championship, Bristol City spent the entirety of the 2007-08 season in the top six and they reached the play-offs, where they were beaten 1-0 by Hull City in the final at Wembley - courtesy of a stunning strike by Dean Windass.
Johnson remained at Ashton Gate for two more years before spells in charge of Peterborough United and Northampton Town followed prior to a return to Huish Park in the 2011-12 season, a move which saw his predecessor Terry Skiverton, who also captained the Glovers during his previous successes with the club, become his assistant.
On his return to Huish Park, Johnson led the Glovers to safety in League One and then in the 2012-13 he led them to the play-offs against the odds, as they beat Sheffield United in the semi-finals to set up a meeting in the final with Brentford. The Glovers beat the Bees 2-1 in the final - with goals from Paddy Madden and Dan Burn - to reach the second tier of the Football League for the first time ever.
Unfortunately, their stay in the Championship proved to be an extremely brief one as the Glovers were relegated after their penultimate game of the 2013-14 season against Brighton and Hove Albion.
He left Huish Park during the 2014-15 campaign and was appointed as Cheltenham Town towards the end of the season, but he was unable to save them from relegation from League Two.
Following the Robins' return to the National League after 16 years in the Football League, Johnson then guided Cheltenham to a return to League Two at the first attempt before re-establishing them as a Football League club.
He now takes over a Gulls' side looking to win promotion from National League South, and he inherits a squad three points off the play-off zone that includes several players that he has worked with before including Liam Davis, Jakub Sokolik and Ryan Dickson at Yeovil and Asa Hall and Jake Andrews at Cheltenham.
Gary Johnson honours:
Yeovil Town:
FA Trophy winners 2001-02
Conference champions 2002-03
League Two champions 2004-05
League One Play-off winners 2012-13
Bristol City:
League One runners-up 2005-07
Cheltenham Town:
National League champions 2015-16
