Swindon change boss after horror start in which thrashing of County was a rare high

SWINDON sacked head coach Mark Kennedy and replaced him with manager Ian Holloway after a poor start to League Two.

The Robins sit just one place above the relegation zone after registering only two wins from 13 games since appointing the former Macclesfield and Lincoln boss on a two-year contract in May.

Swindon’s high point of the campaign was when they exploited Newport County AFC’s defensive injuries and suspensions to romp to a 4-0 win at the County Ground, with all of the goals coming in the first half.

Their only other league success was against their old boss – and Exiles legend – Michael Flynn at Cheltenham a fortnight ago.

A 2-1 loss at Salford on Tuesday proved to be Kennedy’s last match – an announcement was made that he had been sacked in the morning and Holloway was confirmed as new boss before lunchtime.

The 61-year-old has managed 989 games in English football across spells with Bristol Rovers, QPR, Plymouth, Leicester, Blackpool, Crystal Palace, Millwall and Grimsby.

"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,” said Holloway, who last managed in 2020.

"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.”

First-team coaches Marcus Bignot, Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning will oversee Saturday’s fixture at home to Gillingham with Holloway in the County Ground stands ahead of starting on Monday with the existing backroom staff.