Swindon Town have appointed former Crystal Palace boss Ian Holloway as the club's next manager following the departure of Mark Kennedy.

Just two hours after the departure of Kennedy was confirmed, the former Premier League boss has been given the job.

The 61-year-old Bristolian has been out of work since 2020, when he left Grimsby Town, but has managed 989 games across a 24-year managerial career and has an overall win percentage of 35.79.

Following his arrival, Swindon Town's new manager Ian Holloway said upon joining the club: "I'm delighted to be back working in football after a period out of the game as I wanted to get back into it if the right opportunity arose which, with this opportunity, I feel is the perfect fit for me.

"Conversations happened very quickly and both sides were very keen to get the deal done and of course, I was delighted to engage with a club like Swindon Town, a club of whom I know a lot about due to my location and knowledge of the local area.

"I want to be able to bring everyone together to deliver success and positivity on the off the pitch and I'm delighted to be at The Nigel Eady County Ground tomorrow to meet you all for the first time as Swindon Town Manager and I look forward to a successful time working together."

Holloway memorably took both Blackpool and Crystal Palace into the Premier League after wins in the playoffs.

Following the appointment, Head of Football Jamie Russell said, “We're delighted that Ian Holloway has agreed to join us at Swindon Town Football Club.

“We are confident that Ian's experience and leadership qualities which he has shown for many years across not just at Premier League level, but the top five divisions of professional football, will be a significant asset for Swindon Town Football Club. 

“His passionate approach coupled with his location being more local to the South-West area along with most importantly, a desire to build a hardworking and entertaining side is a large part of what made us believe he would be the ideal fit for us.

“Additionally, Ian’s ability to help grow, develop and nurture not only our first-team players but also the dedicated coaching staff we have at Swindon Town was important to us.

“Alongside our current coaching set-up with Marcus Bignot, Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning, there is a great opportunity for us to mix proven Premier League quality in Ian, with our dedicated and committed first-team staff who have achieved successes in their own right and are particularly keen to improve to deliver positive performances and results for Swindon Town going forward.

“We hope that this exciting blend of coaching experience will get the very best out of our talented squad as we look to our next game against Gillingham tomorrow afternoon.”

Holloway will begin his role on Monday but will be in attendance at the game tomorrow, with the current coaching staff taking charge on the Gillingham game.