Ian Holloway named as new Swindon Town manager
The 61-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the League 2 side
Swindon Town have appointed Ian Holloway as the club's new First Team Manager until the end of the season.
The 61-year-old, who's managed in the Premier League, takes over from Mark Kennedy, whom the club parted ways with on Friday morning.
Holloway has been out of Football for a period following a spell at Grimsby Town, which he left in December 2020.
The former Blackpool and Crystal Palace boss said he's delighted to be back.
He said: "I wanted to get back into it if the right opportunity arose which, with this opportunity, I feel is the perfect fit for me."
Holloway takes over a side hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone, sitting in 22nd place in EFL League 2.
The Robins have won just twice in the league so far this season.
Holloway starts the job on Monday, with coaches Marcus Bignot, Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning taking charge of Saturday's fixture with Gillingham.
New boss aiming to bring success and positivity
The new boss said it was easy to get a deal done once conversations started.
"Conversations happened very quickly and both sides were very keen to get the deal done and of course, I was delighted to engage with a club like Swindon Town, a club of whom I know a lot about due to my location and knowledge of the local area.
"I want to be able to bring everyone together to deliver success and positivity on the off the pitch and I'm delighted to be at The Nigel Eady County Ground tomorrow to meet you all for the first time as Swindon Town Manager and I look forward to a successful time working together."
The club's Head of Football Jamie Russell said, “We're delighted that Ian Holloway has agreed to join us at Swindon Town Football Club.
“We are confident that Ian's experience and leadership qualities which he has shown for many years across not just at Premier League level, but the top five divisions of professional football, will be a significant asset for Swindon Town Football Club.
“His passionate approach coupled with his location being more local to the South-West area along with most importantly, a desire to build a hardworking and entertaining side is a large part of what made us believe he would be the ideal fit for us.
“Additionally, Ian’s ability to help grow, develop and nurture not only our first-team players but also the dedicated coaching staff we have at Swindon Town was important to us.
“Alongside our current coaching set-up with Marcus Bignot, Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning, there is a great opportunity for us to mix proven Premier League quality in Ian, with our dedicated and committed first-team staff who have achieved successes in their own right and are particularly keen to improve to deliver positive performances and results for Swindon Town going forward.
“We hope that this exciting blend of coaching experience will get the very best out of our talented squad as we look to our next game against Gillingham.”