Ian Holloway reveals in an interview with Sky Sports his wife’s role in the decision behind him taking the Swindon Town head coach job.
The new Robins boss said he’s delighted to have been appointed and reveals the process of how he secured the job, with it quickly done.
He was in the stands watching Swindon’s 1-1 draw at home to Gillingham, Ian even making his way down to give advice to the coaching team in temporary charge for the game. See that further down in the article.
The result sees Swindon 22nd in League Two with 12 points from 14 games played, desperately seeking an upturn in form.
Interviewer: “Delighted to be with Ian Holloway, the new manager of Swindon Town Football Club. How does that sound, Ian?”
Ian: “Chris, it sounds strange, but lovely. You know, it was such a shock the way it all happened, but I’m absolutely delighted. I feel first time on a Saturday, I woke up for a while with a job to do.
“And this is, obviously, a big thing for me. I got a wonderful group of young people that I can try and mold and help and and help give a bit of confidence to.”
Interviewer: “Can you describe the process? I know it’s been a bit of a whirlwind.”
Ian: “Yeah. I said a few months ago to my wife, I had a feeling I was sort of getting on her nerves a bit because I’m a bit busy.
“And, she said, well, what if you do really truly wanna get back in, it looks like you do, why don’t you just get yourself a agent?
“So I arranged a meeting with him, and that that got canceled. So I he he rang me up and said, what about tonight? Can you can you come along?
“I went, yeah. Alright. And he didn’t tell me he was bringing somebody with him.
“And my wife, when she went, when I went out the door, she went, don’t make any rash decisions about this agent. We’ll talk about it. Tell him how you feel. Tell him where you wanna go, but I don’t really wanna move because she’s moved 48 times. She don’t really wanna do it again.
“So, anyway, I come back and said I went, who’s this? And he went, oh, it’s a fella from Swindon.
“They’ve just haven’t got their manager anymore, and they want to talk to you. So the talks went so quick and as if I’d known him all my life.
“And before you know it, I get home, and she went, well, what? I said, well, they’re gonna make me an offer. She said, who is?
“I said, well, I think it’s Swindon. ‘You only just met’… I said, look. He was there was this this other fella there. So, anyway, cut a long story short, following more than they wanted it done. Can’t believe it, but there you go.
“That’s football. You know? And I do feel I understand how Mark must feel, but this is football, and this is what happened. So his loss is my gain, hopefully.”
He said in an interview, per Swindon Advertiser: “It’s an absolute privilege. It’s a shock how it all happened but I’m delighted to be here.
“We’ve got a good young group of players, I met them just now and can’t wait to see what they can do and add to what they’ve been doing.
“I want to see some confidence, I want to see some belief and some work rate. I want to see some connection between them and see them enjoying their football, and that’s what I’ll be working on, making it more a movement that they are used to rather than something new that they’ve got to learn.
“Remember, it’s a new group and I’m gonna give them some patterns to play to add some principles that they live on and work on to make us more consistent and see some draws and victories, rather than defeats.”
Gavin Gunning said after Saturday’s game: “Listen, he is infectious, he is a small physical presence but massive in terms of his heart, character, and what he represents as a person is really big.
“He has got a massive heart and a massive knowledge of the game and although I think it is disappointing to lose Mark [Kennedy], to bring someone like that in is a massive coup to get someone with such a wealth of experience and knowledge as Ian Holloway.
“I think that the young guys here are going to learn an awful lot and for myself, I am hoping that I will be really fortunate to have worked under him.
“The fans are going to love him, I know they are in an in-between stage where they are not very happy but he is going to drag them back and we are going to get big crowds again because the football is going to be good, off your seat stuff.”
Jack Bycroft said: “I saw it during the first half, to be honest, I think we just changed formation or something and [Miguel] Freckleton played a brilliant pass.
“I looked over and I heard someone, I didn’t know who it was at the time, just giving him a load of praise and I realised ‘That’s the gaffer!’ It was good to see.
“He had a brief chat with us before the game and quite a long chat with us after the game and it was good and I am sure he is going to grind passion and results out of us.
“Massive shoutout to Mark [Kennedy], we all wanted it to work out for him and he is a fantastic guy but he is a completely different character to Ian, who I am sure will get a lot of energy out of us.”
Ian Holloway was supposed to have a watching brief only today from the directors’ box but after #STFC went man down early on, he has spent the majority of game sitting behind the dug out & half-time in the dressing room. He may as well be on the bench!
— Chris Hull (@mrchrishull) October 26, 2024
Ian Holloway’s the new manager down at Swindon.
He wasn’t in charge for their game yesterday but that didn’t stop him trying to coach the team from the sidelines 🤣🤣
pic.twitter.com/i7cfNbrI2e— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) October 27, 2024
Here’s how fans reacted as Ian Holloway reveals his wife’s role in the decision behind him taking the Swindon head coach job…
@jamgtfc: Fraud
@swindonsixties: Speaks really well. Clearly a very intelligent, thoughtful man. Big character, won’t take crap from the owners. Is motivated to succeed. Lives locally. Let’s get behind him and the team. I think he can turn things around. Looking forward to watching Swindon Town again.
@joshbar89824514: Ian shithouse runaway
@YTMWS_: Sorry, but the man quit due to being “contacted disrespectfully” by a new board wanting to come in at #gtfc. Yet he talks to a club already with a manager in charge and merely says, “that’s football” when he’s set to replace him behind his back. Make your mind up! 😂
@JamieD_STFC: Can’t lie, I love this. The vulnerability to come out and make a public appeal to the fans is great and we as a fanbase need to help give him what he needs in regards of support to not only him, but the players wearing our shirt and sporting our badge. He seems really keen!
@offthecrosssbar: How many more chances does he get
@rejamiesta: Now we get behind him and the team. The aim is simple – we simply must not get relegated #COYR #STFC
@MuxlowStuart: The bloke is clueless… talks the talk but can’t back it up … runs when the going gets tough and is a pathological liar .. won’t last the season out .. destroyed Grimsby with his bullshit and lies .. best of luck with this appointment you’ll need it!!! UTM ⚫️⚪️
@TrevorSTFC: With respect. You don’t walk in here demanding fans pack a ground and make atmosphere when 50% can see that the owners are crooks. This is more than just what’s happening on the pitch. Until Clem is gone I will not ever that ground.
@dobbsy17: Don’t fall for his bullshit an absolute 🤡 #gtfc
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