"Flowers to Ian Holloway" - Swindon Town praised for double transfer call | OneFootball

FLW's Swindon fan pundit is surprised these two players are still at the club.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It’s fair to say that January has been a positive month for Swindon Town.

A couple of new faces have arrived at the County Ground and, more crucially, Ian Holloway’s men have continued their upturn in form.

They are currently on a run of four consecutive wins in League Two and have lost just one of their last 10 games in the league, a run stretching back to December 21st.

That run of form has lifted the Robins up to 14th in the league, and with 14 points now separating them and the bottom two, Holloway and the board can surely begin to plan for life in the Football League once again next season.

Swindon kept hold of Will Wright and Harry Smith

With Swindon in serious danger of relegation when the January transfer window opened, it was always going to be a crucial month for the club.

The Robins have arguably underperformed in League Two all season and their squad includes several players of genuine quality at fourth tier level.

With that in mind, their January window was always going to be as much about keeping hold of their key men as it was chasing new additions.

That is something they managed very effectively, with only Rosaire Longelo leaving on a permanent basis.

We spoke to FLW’s resident Swindon fan pundit, Jamie Day, to find out whether there are any players who he is surprised didn’t depart the club this winter.

Jamie said: “I’m going to give you two players actually that I’m surprised didn’t leave in the transfer window, and those are Will Wright and Harry Smith, for two very obvious reasons.

“Will Wright, I personally think, is the best centre-half in the league. I can only imagine he was in incredible demand. There were a lot of strong rumours just before the January window started, about his departure from us to MK Dons to reconnect with Scott Lindsay.

“He is our best player really, and with us lingering down at the bottom end of the league, it would have been quite an easy hunting ground, so I’m really quite pleasantly surprised that Wright is not a player for another club.”

Jamie also noted Harry Smith, with the striker having netted four goals in his last five games in all competitions.

Jamie said: “He’s a six-foot-five striker, and he’s scored 14 goals for the season now. He’s been on fire and again, he’s been one of the better strikers in the league.

“I’m also very surprised that he hasn’t gone anywhere, and I think I’ve got to give my flowers to Ian Holloway. The owners have clearly been told by him that those players are not going anywhere and they are not to listen to any offers for them, I think that’s brilliant.”

Swindon could be in a position to challenge in the top half next term

With the way League Two typically plays out, Swindon’s improvement has come at the perfect time for their season.

In the second half of the season, pressure often builds constantly on the sides battling it out at the foot of the table, with the prospect of life outside the Football League looming.

This is particularly the case for clubs like Swindon, where the fanbase expect significantly better than a fight just to retain their EFL status.

The improvement that Holloway has overseen of late will surely have given Robins supporters reasons to be optimistic for next season.

In Wright and Smith, plus former Mansfield and Bristol Rovers man Ollie Clarke, there are some very solid League Two players within the Swindon squad that Holloway should be able to build on next term.

Throw in new goalkeeper Connor Ripley, signed from Port Vale on deadline day, and there is already the basis for a strong spine for next year’s team.

However, that will likely depend on the futures of Wright and Smith, and fans will understandably be crying out for controversial owner Clem Morfuni to show some ambition and give Holloway the tools he needs to progress the club and the team.