Clem Morfuni says Swindon Town fans 'have club back' as takeover nears completion

Swindon Town were relegated from League One last season

New Swindon Town owner and chairman Clem Morfuni says Robins fans "have got their club back" as his takeover of the League Two club nears completion.

The Australian businessman has appointed Ben Garner as head coach and Ben Chorley as director of football.

Garner, 41, was boss of Bristol Rovers from December 2019 until November 2020.

Morfuni, who had a minority stake in the Wiltshire club, is in the process of acquiring shares from outgoing chairman Lee Power.

"I want to thank every supporter who fought for their club and helped me to gain control," Morfuni said.

"I will work hard to make this club a club all our fans can be proud of."

Morfuni has been involved in a High Court legal battle with Power over the ownership of Swindon, with Power ordered to sell the club to Morfuni's plumbing company, Axis.

On Tuesday, the English Football League confirmed it had granted Morfuni consent to acquire additional shares, after he passed the league's owners' and directors' test.

Swindon, who had been without a manager since John McGreal resigned in June after just a month in charge, face a series of challenges off the pitch.

They are under a transfer embargo, having paid players and staff just 60% of their June wages, and the local council, who own the stadium, have taken legal action against the club for not paying rent since April 2020.

Morfuni 'fully aware' of 'difficult situation'

In a statement on the Swindon website, Morfuni described himself as "the biggest football fan in the world".

He said he will invest his "money and time" in the club and "provide full transparency of the financial position of the club at all times".

"I also want to make it clear that I am fully aware of how difficult the situation that I am inheriting is," he added.

"What a challenge we all have on our hands to turn this great club around.

"It's going to take good strategic planning, a considerable amount of finance in the short term but above all it is going to take unity.

"If we all pull together and we stay united we can turn this club around and take it back to where it belongs."

Garner 'an extremely respected coach'

Morfuni says he has chosen the director of football and head coach model rather than a manager as he wants "continuity to run through the club".

"I want a young, forward-thinking, vibrant club," he told the club website.

"Ben Chorley is incredibly knowledgeable about football.

"I have full faith that, given time and support, he will be able to build the correct infrastructure at the club and make the correct acquisitions to implement my vision.

"Ben Garner has over 20 years coaching experience at every level of the game and is an extremely respected coach within the game.

"I have complete faith that they are people to take this club forward but they're going to need patience and time because they inherit an extremely difficult set of circumstances."

Garner will be assisted by Scott Marshall and Scott Lindsey, while goalkeeping coach Steve Mildenhall - who had taken charge of first-team affairs following McGreal's departure - will remain a the club.

Morfuni wants 'sustainable Championship club'

Morfuni has also laid out some objectives for the future.

These include; building "a sustainable Championship club", owning the County Ground alongside supporters, to "significantly improve and fully modernise" the stadium and building a new training ground.

"I know that is a million miles away from where we are now and it's going to take a great deal of work, resources, vision and effort," he said.

"But if we pull together, we can and we will do it.

"We will have lots of issues to uncover and resolve in the coming days, and there will be many urgent problems to deal with."

Swindon and Power are still the subject of Football Association charges regarding the ownership and funding of the club.

In April, Power, along with sports agency First Touch Pro Management and its company director Michael Standing, were charged with breaching FA rules on ownership.

Standing, a former Aston Villa trainee who had spells at Bradford and Walsall, had previously stated that he had acquired 50% of Swindon's holding company when Power bought the Robins in 2013.

But, under FA regulations, agents are not allowed to own clubs because of potential conflicts of interest.