Swindon Town have confirmed that head coach Jody Morris, alongside assistant Ed Brand, have both left the club following a disappointing spell at the County Ground.
Morris leaves the club on the back of a 2-1 defeat away to Crewe Alexandra in the league, with two late goals from Conor Thomas and Joel Tabiner for Lee Bell’s side ruled out Rushian Hepburn-Murthy’s first-half opener to deny Swindon all three points at the Mornflake Stadium.
Alongside the departure of Morris and Brand, Swindon have also confirmed that both Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning will oversee the game against Crawley Town on Monday as the club look to appoint a successor to take the club into next season.
Morris’ time at the County Ground
Morris was appointed by the club at the end of January in what was the former Chelsea assistant’s first taste in a senior management role following the departure of Scott Lindsey to fellow League Two side Crawley Town.
During his short spell at the County Ground, Morris oversaw 14 games in charge of the League Two side, with the 44-year-old only winning three of those games as well as tasting defeat on seven occasions, picking up a total of 13 points in the league along the way.
Swindon currently find themselves 10th in the League Two table with only one more game left to play and 17 points off the play-off places, with the Robins unable to finish any higher than where they currently are when they welcome Scott Lindsey back to the County Ground when they take on Crawley Town on Monday 8th May.
Swindon Town can today confirm it has parted company with First-Team Head Coach, Jody Morris, and his assistant Ed Brand.#STFC 🔴⚪️
— Swindon Town Football Club (@Official_STFC) May 1, 2023
What’s been said?
Following the departure of both Jody Morris and Ed Brand, a statement on the club’s official website reads: “Swindon Town can today confirm it has parted company with First-Team Head Coach, Jody Morris, and his assistant Ed Brand.
“Morris, 44, was appointed at the end of January in what was his first senior management role in the game and was later followed to the County Ground by assistant, Ed Brand, in early March. We would like to thank both Jody and Ed for their contribution and efforts since joining the football club and wish them all the very best in the future.
“Our aim when they took over was to push on and finish the second half of the season strongly, but as a club, we haven’t achieved our objectives.
“With just one more league game remaining before we reach the conclusion of the season, we feel now is the right time to take a fresh approach as we look to bring success back to this great club for 2023/24.
“Work is well underway to find our next manager, with an announcement in due course. Steve Mildenhall and Gavin Gunning will take charge of our final EFL Sky Bet League Two fixture at home to Crawley on Monday 8 May, kick-off 12.30pm.”
Writers View
On the face of it, it did only look a matter of time before Morris was shown the exit door but in saying that, he did only get to manage the club on 14 occasions without also having a transfer window to stamp his authority on things.
14 games is no time for a head coach to implement his ideas and thoughts as to how they want to play but with the expectation of Swindon to be in and around the playoffs, off the back of this season, the club have not really been near it. Especially as with one game left to go, they find themselves 17 points away from the top seven.
With one more game to go until they can put this season to one side, Swindon will now look to appoint someone who they feel is capable of making the step up at the County Ground as the club looks to become one of the strongest sides in League Two as they aim to challenge for promotion in the upcoming season.
The only is obvious it has to be Karl Robinson no doubt it will someone noone has heard of it will someone cheap Shane as Karl would be the perfect choice