Billy Bodin has opened up on why he decided to return to Swindon Town over a decade after his last Robins appearance.
Ian Holloway’s side signed the 33-year-old veteran from League One’s Burton Albion, after a brief loan at Reading and helping the Royals to come within touching distance of the third tier playoffs despite their off field struggles. The one-time Wales international returns to League Two for the first time in nine years during his debut season at Bristol Rovers.
Club Size A Factor
Bodin emerged from the academy at Swindon, but ultimately left in 2012 to join Torquay United. Speaking about his return to the County Ground, Bodin spoke about why he chose to comeback to his first club following his exit from Burton. He said (Quotes via BBC Radio Wiltshire):
“I never really wanted to leave and I always felt like I had a little bit more to show to the fans and the manager at the time, but didn’t quite get the opportunities maybe I thought I should have got,
“The pull of the club and everything around it was perfect timing for me and, hopefully, it can be a good season. [The way] the manager wants to play with the wingers coming inside and the full-backs bombing on is perfect to how I play.”
The Robins are looking to build a strong attacking line heading into this season to match manager Holloway’s promotion ambition, turning away bids for Harry Smith and young talent Botan Ameen this window. They ended eight points off of the playoffs last season, with the former Blackpool boss failing to gain points in just eight of his 32 matches in charge.
Writers’ View
Billy Bodin feels like a great move for Swindon and with his family and previous connection it was a no brainer to bring him back to the County Ground. Ian Holloway proved in the second half of last season that The Robins can be a very competitive side and with his attacking approach keeping key players is vital to getting the club promoted. They are certainly an outsider for promotion this season, but there is no reason why they can’t break into the top three.
