Swindon sack head coach Kennedy after five months

Mark Kennedy was appointed as head coach at the end of last season following Swindon's lowest league finish in 40 years

Swindon Town have sacked head coach Mark Kennedy after less than five months in charge with the club hovering above the League Two relegation zone.

Kennedy was appointed on a two-year contract on 29 May but has overseen just two league wins this season and six losses in 13 games, with the club 22nd in the table.

Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at Salford was the 48-year-old's final game in charge.

First-team coaches Marcus Bignot, Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning will stay on at the County Ground and lead the side on an interim basis, with the club aiming to appoint Kennedy's successor "at the earliest opportunity".

"Everyone at Swindon Town Football Club would like to express their appreciation to Mark for his commitment and hard work during his time with the club and wish him all the best in the future," a club statement read.

Former Lincoln boss Kennedy was brought in at the end of last season following Swindon's lowest league finish in 40 years, as they came 19th in the fourth tier.

However, the Robins have remained near the foot of the table this campaign too.

Kennedy said after the Salford defeat he was not worried about his position at the club.

"Thinking, worrying about tomorrow ruins today, so you can only control the controllables," he told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

Speaking in September, club owner Clem Morfuni said he intended to show "patience" with Kennedy, despite the poor start to the season.

"We can't just keep chopping and changing, it doesn't work - we've done that and it doesn't get us anywhere," Morfuni told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

Yet Kennedy's departure means Swindon are searching for their sixth permanent manager since Morfuni took over the club in July 2021, with Ben Garner, Scott Lindsey, Jody Morris and Michael Flynn all having come and gone.

Gunning and Mildenhall have also taken interim charge during that time.

There has also been growing unease among supporters regarding Morfuni's ownership this year.

Trust STFC, the club's fan trust, said they had lost "confidence and trust" in the Australian businessman's ownership in May, while earlier this month they said the club needed to address the lack of "experienced football leadership" at the County Ground.

'Impossible to not look upstairs'

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

Mark Kennedy becomes the latest Swindon manager to find himself ushered through the revolving door, be delighted at the potential of the club, only to head back out of it with considerable haste and maybe even a sense of relief.

Two wins in 13 league games is hardly a record for retention and Kennedy's highly positive reviews of the team's performances and individual players caused a swift and significantly fractured relationship with a fanbase that disagreed and is weary, regardless of which head coach is in the ejector seat.

It is impossible not to look upstairs at Swindon. The cycle of worsening results - academy apart - with the current ownership, chief executive and head of football in place is evident.

Kennedy had a strong relationship with statistics, and some of the underlying numbers do suggest Swindon are performing better than their league position suggests. It's not pulling-up-trees figures, but they are league-status-saving.

Let's see if the next manager can help things revert to the mean. The work of his recent predecessors suggest that will be some achievement in this environment.