"Surpassed all expectations" - Ian Holloway hailed for season-changing Swindon Town impact | OneFootball

FLW's Swindon fan pundit has his say on Holloway's time in charge so far.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings, and more…

Ian Holloway has overseen a fantastic turnaround since moving back into management with Swindon Town back in October.

The former Blackpool and Millwall boss was widely assumed to have stepped away from management, having not been in the dugout since he resigned from his post as Grimsby Town chief back in 2020.

Holloway took charge at the County Ground with the Robins sat rock bottom of the entire Football League, but week-by-week he has gradually hauled them away from the bottom two.

Saturday’s 1-0 away defeat at the hands of Harrogate Town was only Swindon’s second loss in their last 12 league games, a run that has lifted them up to 17th in the League Two table.

Ian Holloway has reminded everyone of what he is capable of with Swindon Town

When it was announced that Holloway would be stepping into the dugout at Swindon back in Autumn, it was certainly a surprise appointment.

He had been out of work for almost four years and, with his previous club Grimsby hovering precariously above the League Two drop zone when he resigned, many people thought Holloway’s time had been and gone.

He has proven over the last few months, however, that he is still a perfectly capable manager in the lower leagues.

Saturday’s Harrogate defeat put a halt to the Robins’ six-game unbeaten run in the league, but given how unpredictable the fourth tier table has been yet again this season, that has been good enough to lift them up to 17th, and build a 12-point gap between themselves and Morecambe, who occupy the final relegation place.

The 57-year-old has rightly received plenty of plaudits for Swindon’s recent upturn in form and, with that in mind, we spoke to FLW’s resident Robins fan pundit, Ciaran Daniel, to find out whether Holloway has surpassed expectations within the club, as well as on the outside.

Ciaran told FLW: “I think Ian Holloway has done a lot better than anyone could have predicted. Even with him in charge, we all saw us being in a relegation fight for most of the season. I’d say we are nearly out of it; we’re going to be safe in mid-table now.

“I think we’ve been taken out of the relegation conversation, which is more than any of us could have hoped for. He has managed to get this squad playing, with few changes in personnel – we haven’t really had any wholesale changes.

“We only made a few signings during the transfer window, and they were very much needed as reinforcements. So, I think considering he had the same team as Mark Kennedy did, a team that eventually dropped to the bottom of the Football League, he has turned it around massively.

“From when he came in and we were bottom of the Football League, we thought even Ian Holloway wouldn’t be able to save us and it was going to be a long, hard season. It has been a long, hard season, but thankfully now, he’s turned that corner and got a lot of wins under our belt.

“We’re on a great run and I think he’s very much surpassed all expectations in the best of ways. Long may it continue.”

Swindon Town should be able to start planning for next season sooner rather than later

Barring a minor miracle, Swindon’s League Two status looks to be all-but confirmed for next season. 12 points off the drop and 11 off the play-offs, it now looks virtually certain that they will be a fourth tier side in 2025/26.

While expectations perhaps would have been higher among the fanbase at the start of the season, a mid-table finish does at least give the Robins the luxury of being able to steal something of a head start on preparation for next season.

If they can continue their good form until the campaign’s close, they will likely finish in a very respectable position, given the state their season was in at one stage.

It feels as though Holloway has brought a sense of optimism back to the club that hasn’t been present in the last few seasons. With the likes of Harry Smith and Will Wright in the squad, there is plenty of reason to believe that Swindon could kick on next term and potentially compete in the play-off picture.