Swindon Town weighing up approach for 48-year-old | OneFootball

Swindon Town weighing up approach for 48-year-old | OneFootball

Icon: Football League World

Football League World

·29 April 2024

Swindon Town weighing up approach for 48-year-old

Article image:Swindon Town weighing up approach for 48-year-old

League Two side Swindon Town have shortlisted Derek Adams as a potential option to take on the manager's role, according to Alan Nixon.

The Robins have endured a turbulent time this season, having previously been in a good position just a few years ago.


OneFootball Videos


Being promoted under Richie Wellens back in 2020, they also enjoyed a fairly eventful campaign under Ben Garnder during the 2021/22 campaign back in the fourth tier.

But they ended up losing in the play-off semis at the end of that campaign and Garner moved on to Charlton Athletic after that, leaving the Wiltshire-based outfit with a new manager to appoint and plenty of work to do in the transfer market, having lost important players including Harry McKirdy and Akin Odimayo.

Starting last season poorly before climbing into the promotion mix, a poor second half of the campaign meant they fell short of the play-offs.

But this season has been even poorer for Swindon, doing well until the start of October before they declined.

Michael Flynn was replaced in January by current caretaker Gavin Gunning, who hasn't really been able to improve results.

With this in mind, it will be a surprise if the fourth-tier outfit appoint Gunning permanently, and a replacement for him in the summer will surely need to be recruited.

Adams has a lot of EFL managerial experience under his belt, winning promotion at Plymouth Argyle from the fourth tier back in 2017 and doing the same at Morecambe back in 2021.

Unfortunately, he was unable to replicate this at Bradford City and left his previous job at Ross County after taking charge of just 12 games.

With this poor spell in Scotland in mind, Adams will be keen to redeem himself and he's available as a free agent after leaving County back in February.

Alan Nixon believes other clubs currently have the 48-year-old on their radar as the summer approaches, but the Robins could move early for the Scotsman to try and persuade him to move to the County Ground.

Previous off-field issues may not deter Derek Adams from taking the Swindon Town job

Article image:Swindon Town weighing up approach for 48-year-old

Due to previous late payments, Swindon are still under an embargo this summer, which is a small blow.

However, the Robins could be extremely effective in the free agent market this summer and are also likely to be active in the loan market.

Expectations in Wiltshire may not be that high following a disappointing 2023/24 campaign - and that's ideal for Adams who could potentially exceed those expectations.

Considering the CV he has, fans are likely to be patient with the ex-Plymouth boss and that's another reason why the 48-year-old could be tempted to take the top job.

The fourth-tier outfit have some talented players and if Adams is allowed to go into the market and put his stamp on the squad, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Swindon finish quite high up in the table.

Promotion shouldn't be expected straight away though.

View publisher imprint