Everything you need to know about Swindon's new head coach

Swindon Town have appointed the former Lincoln City boss Mark Kennedy, so who is the newest incumbent at the County Ground?

Kennedy’s first taste of management came at Macclesfield Town in January 2020, winning two of his 12 games before the season was truncated by Covid and the club were subsequently relegated amidst financial issues that caused him to resign ahead of the following campaign.

A stint back in the Ipswich academy and as Lee Bowyer’s assistant at Birmingham City was to follow before taking up the head coach role at Lincoln.

Kennedy secured a top-half finish in his only full season at Sincil Bank, the club’s second-highest league finish in 40 years but left 11 matches into the following campaign with the Imps 16th in League One.

Speaking about his departure to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Lincoln CEO Liam Scully said: “Of course, we are ambitious and our aim is to be higher in the table at this moment in time, but it is very early on in the season and there are lots of mitigating factors.

"One thing we want to be clear on is that we are not naive, this is about winning but this isn't purely about results. Far from it.

"One thing I can say, and please let's not let this run away, but I don't think it was helpful in terms of our characterisation of Danny Mandroiu after the game. Is that part of it? Yes. Is that the reason? No.”

The 48-year-old was in charge of a young Lincoln side and created a defensively sound team that competed in the top half of League One.

Kennedy represents a stylistic departure (Image: Newsquest)

Comparing his Lincoln side’s numbers to Swindon’s from last season, he is a distinct stylist departure, with his team being less ball-dominant and creating fewer chances, but being more solid at the back, something that Town will be hoping to radically improve on from last season.

Lincoln were not a high-pressing side under Kennedy but were able to absorb pressure and spring on the counterattack, although they were not the most potent in this regard, averaging 0.9 xG created per game.

As a player, Kennedy won 34 caps for the Republic of Ireland and made almost 300 appearances in the Premier League with Liverpool, Manchester City, and others.

He began his coaching career with Ipswich Town working as their under-21s head coach from 2012 to 2016 before moving to Manchester City to work in their academy, then switching to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ under-23s in 2019.