Swindon Town appoint Holloway as new manager

Ian Holloway has been out of management for almost four years

Swindon Town have appointed Ian Holloway as their new manager, on a deal until the end of the season.

It is the 61-year-old's first job in the dugout since he resigned as Grimsby Town boss in late December 2020.

Holloway, who has managed 989 games in English football, replaces Mark Kennedy who was sacked earlier on Friday morning.

The Robins are one place and three points off the League Two relegation places having won just one of their last seven games in the fourth tier.

He will begin work on Monday with first-team coaches Marcus Bignot, Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning taking charge of the League Two game against Gillingham at the County Ground on Saturday.

"I'm delighted to be back working in football after a period out of the game," Holloway 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.

"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."

Ian Holloway has worked as a media pundit since his departure at Grimsby

Holloway has achieved promotion three times in a managerial career that began at Bristol Rovers in 1996.

He led Queens Park Rangers to what is now the Championship via the play-offs in 2004 before guiding Blackpool and Crystal Palace into the Premier league via a Wembley showpiece in 2010 and 2013 respectively.

Holloway has also had spells in charge of Plymouth Argyle, Leicester City and Millwall before spending just short of a year in charge at Grimsby over the turn of the decade.

Earlier this month he told BBC Sport about his desire to become the latest English manager to take charge of 1,000 matches.

He has worked as a pundit, been an after-dinner speaker and spent time with his grandchildren since leaving Grimsby and told the BBC that he still watched and analysed matches.

Holloway - who becomes the third-oldest EFL manager behind Blackpool's Steve Bruce and Steve Evans at Rotherham United - takes over a Swindon Town side whose 19th placed finish in League Two last season was their lowest league position in 40 years.

This term has seen more difficulty on the field with just two league wins all season, while there have been fan concerns off the pitch as owner Clem Morfuni struggles to right a club that has had more than its share of financial problems in recent seasons.

"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," the club's head of football Jamie Russell said.

"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."

'He's got a mighty job to do'

Analysis - Andrew Hawes, BBC Radio Wiltshire's Swindon Town commentator

He's got a mighty job to do to make sure that Swindon keep their Football League status.

I think it's a bit of a surprise to see him return to management, but one has to trust that the hunger is there. His engaging personality will help.

It looks like he's going to work with the existing backroom staff - he's managed Marcus Bignot already during their time together at QPR.

I'll be interested to see the fan reaction, we are at the stage where some people will be jaundiced whoever the manager is.

But some people will know him, know that high profile, and the fact there have been successful times for different clubs with him in charge, and they will be more energised by the whole thing.