JODY Morris has been officially confirmed as the new head coach of Swindon Town.

The former Chelsea and Derby County coach has been appointed on a two-and-a-half-year deal, almost three weeks after the departure of Scott Lindsey to Crawley Town.

A host of names had been touted to take over at the County Ground during January, including Chris Hughton, Marc Bircham, and David Artell.

But Swindon finally rubber-stamped their choice with just hours of the January transfer window remaining.

Speaking to Town’s media team, Morris admitted he was “incredibly excited to be joining Swindon” as “it is a great opportunity at a wonderful football club that is steeped in history.”

He continued: “My footballing philosophy is completely aligned with that of the club, and upon meeting Sandro [Di Michele], I was presented with a strategy and vision that I’m really keen to be a part of.

“I’m extremely proud to be leading such a forward-thinking club, with an owner and technical director that are passionate and committed to bringing success here.

“We now turn our attentions to an important 19 league games, with promotion at the forefront of our ambitions, and we want to take this incredible fanbase on a long and successful journey.”

Morris – who is the 41st permanent manager of Swindon in the club’s history – attended Saturday’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Gillingham at the County Ground but was not in charge of the team.

The Hammersmith-born coach is expected to be assisted by Ed Brand – who was also at Saturday’s game – the most recent head coach of Chelsea Under 18s and Morris’ former assistant when the 44-year-old was at Cobham between 2016-18.

During those years at Chelsea, the pair helped the Blues’ U18s to an unprecedented quadruple – landing the U18 Premier League southern title, the U18 Premier League Cup, and the FA Youth Cup before beating Manchester United to land the Premier League national final.

While assistant to Frank Lampard at Chelsea’s first-team, the 44-year-old helped the Blues qualify for the Champions League. After being sacked at Stamford Bridge, the same pair then coached Derby into the Championship play-off final before losing 2-1 to Aston Villa in 2019.

On Morris’ appointment, Town owner, Clem Morfuni, said: “I’m delighted we can confirm the appointment of Jody Morris as our new first-team head coach.

“Jody brings a wealth of knowledge to the club and really relates to our aims, objectives, visions and values.

“With Gavin Gunning and Steve Mildenhall working as part of their team having done a fantastic job in the interim, we feel we have an extremely strong coaching set-up to push us towards promotion this term.”