Swindon Town appoints Bristol Rovers legend Ian Holloway as manager
Swindon Town have appointed Ian Holloway as their new manager on a deal up until the end of 2024-25 season.
The Bristol Rovers legend made more than 600 appearances as a player and has taken charge of close to 1,000 professional games during his managerial career.
It comes after Swindon Town revealed it parted ways with head coach Mark Kennedy after just 13 matches earlier on Friday.
Holloway will officially start his new role on Monday but he will be in attendance for the club's League Two match against Gillingham tomorrow.
Speaking of his appointment at the Robins Holloway said: "I'm delighted to be back working in football after a period out of the game as 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."
His appointment comes on the day the club parted company with Mark Kennedy, who himself was only appointed five months ago.
It marks a return to football for Holloway who has not been in management since he left Grimsby in 2020.
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 tomorrow afternoon.”