Gavin Gunning to bring 'heavy metal' football to Swindon Town squad

Interim head coach Gavin Gunning stressed his desire to see Swindon Town get on the front foot – as he looks to arrest their dismal run of form.

The 32-year-old Dubliner was announced as being back in the hotseat at the County Ground last week, following the departure of manager Michael Flynn.

Gunning had been set to take charge when Town were due to host Tranmere this weekend, only for the game to be called off due to a frozen pitch.

But speaking to the club website following his appointment, the coach was eager to outline the characteristics he wanted his group to show.

Asked what the key attributes were to a Gavin Gunning team, he replied: “Hard work, intensity, front foot football. Heavy metal as Jurgen Klopp says.”

He added: “It’s a massive privilege to take over a club of this stature, so really excited to get going again with the lads.

“I’m very confident in my abilities to deliver a message to the players. What angle we are going to go at going forward.

“When you take over, it’s always going to be tough. You are never going to be flying are you? So at the minute, it’s just about literally closing everything down, click that laptop back on again and lets kickstart it.”

Town have lost six of their past eight League Two fixtures, picking up just four points in the process. They are currently 17^th in the division.

Asked what he believed the key thing would be to improve the situation, Gunning replied: “I think it’s don’t overthink the situation.

“Listen, when we get 2-0 up a lot of the times it’s been panic stations or we’ve tried to defend a lead.

“Sometimes, you’ve just got to put the foot on the throttle and just keep going. A lot of the time at this level, it’s who can keep going the longest.

“The ball retention isn’t as good as the elite level and that’s the way it’s going to be.

“So, it’s who takes their chances better, who is better on transition and that’s massive in League Two because there is a lot of ball turnover.

“How quickly can we punish them? There’s no point in making 100 passes side to side, it’s got to penetrate straight away and those are the teams that are successful at this level.”

Swindon are set to host Bradford City in League Two on Saturday (3pm).

(Picture: Robert Noyes)