Ian Holloway: New Swindon manager wants players to have faith

New Swindon manager Ian Holloway said he wants to see “confidence” and “belief” in his team after watching them for the first time at the County Ground.

Holloway was appointed on Friday, hours after former coach Mark Kennedy was sacked following a poor start to the season.

Swindon equalized in the 93rd minute to draw 1-1 at Gillingham, with Holloway overseeing the game before taking charge on Monday.

“I want to see some confidence, I want to see some faith, some degree of engagement with each other,” Holloway told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

“I want to see some connection between them, I want to see them enjoying their football and I will work on that.”

“More and more turning it into a movement that they are used to rather than something new that they need to learn but don’t know each other.”

The Swindon job is Holloway’s first role in football management since leaving Grimsby Town in December 2020.

He comes to Wiltshire with a team just above the League Two relegation zone in 22nd place with two wins, six draws and six defeats from their first 14 games of the campaign.

Holloway said he spoke to the players before and after the Gillingham match and that he was “delighted” to be there.

“I’m going to give them some models to play by and principles to live by and work on to make us more consistent and hopefully get draws and wins rather than losses,” he said.