Mark Kennedy left the Imps in October, relieved of his duties for reasons that weren’t entirely connected to football.
Having led us to 11th in League One the season before, the dismissal seemed harsh, and Kennedy has bided his time before moving into another role. That changed this afternoon, as he was appointed manager of League Two strugglers Swindon Town on a two-year contract.
Kennedy said he was ‘looking forward’ to taking charge at Swindon, adding; “I also think it’s crucial we look forward now and plan for the future with the exciting plans here at this sleeping giant of a football club, which I’m confident we can all achieve if we’re all pulling in the same direction.”
Swindon are, for want of a better turn of phrase, on their arses at the moment, having finished 19th in League Two, one of their worst-ever seasons. However, there’s a feeling that Kennedy is the man to turn that around, as head of football Jamie Russell explained.
“His approach and coaching style will provide strong leadership, motivation and guidance to all players,” said Russell.
“His coaching qualities can also help every player to develop regardless of age due to his experience in coaching at Category 1 academies, working with first-team players across the EFL and finally from being an elite player who has represented his country on several occasions and played in solely the top two tiers of English football.”
Is he the man to turn Swindon around? In terms of output, his time at Lincoln wasn’t bad, althoguh his win ratio was lower than John Reames, Peter Jackson and Chris Moyses. However, he did have a big job steadying the ship at City post-Michael Appleton, and whilst his football was uninspiring, we never looked like we’d be relegated under him.
If Swindon are looking to be tough to beat, challenging (at times) to watch, but always threatening to be better than they actually show, then he’s the right man. Mark Kennedy has a lot of qualities that some (like me) tend to overlook, and I’m glad he’s had another chance to show what he can do.