Luke Williams' departure from Swindon Town was "inevitable" but "tough" says Nathan Thompson

Swindon Town captain Nathan Thompson has spoken of his admiration for departed head coach Luke Williams and thinks the decision to part company with the 35-year-old was "tough" and "difficult to take".

Williams left the County Ground my mutual consent on Friday, 15 months into his five-year deal as Swindon head coach, after the Robins were relegated to League Two this season.

Captain Nathan Thompson described Williams as the best coach he has worked with in his decade-long spell at the club.

Thompson was speaking to BBC Wiltshire in a 90-minute programme detailing the 10 years the academy graduate has spent representing Swindon.

He started the interview by giving his reaction to Williams' departure.

"It's tough, course it is, when you see a manager leave the club. It's difficult to take, but, I think, after the relegation, it was maybe inevitable that it would happen," Thompson said.

"It's difficult. I spoke to Luke and (he) seemed relatively upbeat, as well as you can be after the news, but I'm sure he'll bounce back.

"(What makes him so special) I think it's because of the amount of stuff he's willing to teach, it's difficult, managers each have their own style. 

"He's very much hands-on, every single day he's able to come down to every level. Whether he's teaching 14, 15 year-olds, or teaching senior pros, he's able to relate to them constantly and I think that's massive in this game, the man-management side of things.

"That's why it's so difficult to accept this season the way that it's finished that he's lost his job."

Williams was initially a first-team coach at Swindon prior to his promotion to the head coach role. Many fans were of the opinion that he was not suited to a more advanced position.

"It's difficult to say. He was a massive part of the year we got to the play-offs and it probably felt natural that he would step forward. 

"Management and coaching is quite a different role. For me, he's the best coach I've ever worked with and I've worked with all sorts of managers and coaches. He's very hands-on and his eye for detail was second-to-none.

"That's why I'm sure that, regardless of the situation, he will find another club and he will do well.

"I think, if he's honest, he knew there was something around the corner. It'll be a very interesting summer, there's a lot of players that've left the club in recent days and now a whole new management team will have to come in so we'll see what comes up.

"I'd like to wish him the best of luck."