SWINDON Town have announced Scott Lindsey as the club's new head coach.

Town's former assistant will take over from Ben Garner after he departed for Charlton Athletic earlier this month.

A plethora of names had been touted as potential replacements, but after almost two weeks of searching, Town confirmed their choice on Monday.

Sandro Di Michele, Town's technical director, said: "We have a clear philosophy on how we want this football club to operate and over the last 12 months Scott Lindsey has played a key role in shaping that. 

“Scott clearly believes in a possession-based, attacking brand of football and he fully supports our data lead recruitment strategy. 

“He is hugely respected by the players and has been integral to their development. All these factors made Scott the standout choice and I’m incredibly excited for the future of Swindon Town Football Club with Scott as head coach.”

Following his appointment, Scott Lindsey expressed his delight at getting the opportunity to manage the club.

“It means a lot to me to be the head coach of this fantastic football club,” he said. 

“There’s some great people behind the scenes working here, and you only had to look at last season to see how well supported this club is, averaging nearly 10,000 people every week, which is amazing for this standard of football.

"Away from home the following was just incredible, so to be head coach of this club with that kind of following is just fantastic and I’m really looking forward to it. 

“The club wanted some continuity going forward and they don’t want to go too far away from how we play, so that was an important factor.

“It is big for me and my family. I worked here back in 2015 as the Youth Coach, I then came back with Ben (Garner) as the assistant manager last year and my family have really embraced it. My children all go in the Town End for most home games, and try to get to a lot of the away games too, so it is a really proud moment for me.”

Swindon Town CEO, Rob Angus, said: “We’re really pleased that Scott has agreed to become Head Coach of our club, providing continuity, and he is someone who can develop and improve our players, and more importantly, believes in the way we like to play.

“He has fully bought into our football strategy. He knows our club inside and out and I am sure with Scott at the helm we have a great future ahead of us.”

Prior to spending 56 games as Garner's number two, Lindsey was in charge of Southern Counties East Premier Division side Chatham Town for a season and a half where he reportedly assembled a high-quality squad.

The stint as Chatham boss came after Lindsey left his role as Forest Green Rovers assistant - the 50-year-old was under Mark Cooper at the New Lawn for 172 games between 2016 and 2019.

Lindsey has a history with Swindon following his time as the club’s Under-18s manager between 2014 and 2016.

Town’s new head coach will lead his team for the first time on Saturday, July 3 when Swindon take on Melksham Town in a pre-season friendly at the InfiLED Arena.