A sit-down with Scott Lindsey: The man with a plan to building success at Swindon Town

Scott Lindsey may not have been Swindon fans’ first choice as new head coach following the departure of Ben Garner who left to take charge at Charlton. However, Lindsey’s appointment could turn out to be a masterstroke by Swindon. Why? Total Sport Swindon's Ryan Walker explores everything surrounding the new manager change at the County Ground after he sat down to speak with Lindsey.

‘My hopes and aspirations are to win every game we play. I want to win promotion.’

A short but hard-hitting message from Scott Lindsey as he outlines his plans for success at Swindon Town. 

The new manager has been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to become a team’s head honcho after spells working as a youth team coach, first-team coach, and also assistant manager. And now he has got his deserved chance.

Lindsey is no stranger to Swindon Town fans. He was the U18 team manager in 2014 and helped to nurture the likes of Scott Twine as he dedicated his time to bleeding through potential talent at the club. 

Twine joined Championship side Burnley at the weekend, so Lindsey certainly has an eye for spotting a potential star.

He returned to Wiltshire last season working as assistant manager to Ben Garner as Swindon fell just short of a League Two play-off final trip to Wembley. 

Following talks in the wake of his former colleague’s departure, Lindsey admitted his full attention was on taking up the new position after he was approached.

‘I was never set for Charlton,’ said Lindsey.

‘Ben Garner made it clear he wanted me to go with him but there was never anything kind of more than that.

‘I was on holiday, I had done a week’s course at St George’s Park and I was busy doing that then got a phone call from Sandro Di Michele and that was that.

‘As soon as I spoke to the club and the job was offered I knew straight away it was what I wanted to do,’ he added.

‘There was no ifs, buts or maybes, it was yes I want the job.

Lindsey gave a detailed analysis of why he wanted to take the job at Swindon, with the 50-year-old wanting to fulfil his ambitions of succeeding as a manager at a big club. 

Swindon have provided him with the ideal opportunity. Not because he was the last resort but because those in charge believe in his character, his footballing intelligence, and his potential to lead the club up the EFL pyramid.

I have never met a football manager that fills me with confidence as much as Lindsey. 

He talks to you like you’re friends catching up down the pub, but under the charming surface is a professional who knows the expectations that come with taking the Swindon job, and more importantly how to deliver on those.

While this may be his first appointment as a club’s head coach, don’t let that fool you into thinking that Lindsey is the new boy on the block. He has been involved in professional coaching for over a decade and during that time has learned how to succeed, and crucially how not to. 

He understands the emotional demands of modern-day footballers and also possesses the personal qualities that Swindon fans want to see in their manager.

‘I suppose I want to do it because I’m mad,’ he joked.

‘No seriously I’ve been in professional football coaching for 12/13 years and have had different roles from assistant manager, first team coach, youth team coach, and did do a spell as caretaker manager at Lincoln City a long time ago.

‘I’ve done every job in football coaching and the only thing I haven’t had is the title as head coach or manager,’ he said.

‘I’ve done everything else that the manager does. I’ve spoken to the press, spoke in boardrooms, I’ve picked teams, spoke in dressing rooms and done everything a manager does but just not had the title.

‘It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. Once an opportunity comes up I was always going to take it as a number one and of course with it being a club like Swindon that’s even better.

‘This is a brilliant club with some great people behind the scenes and some unbelievable support.

‘Averaging 10,000 people for home games and the away following was incredible, as an assistant manager watching that was fantastic. But as the manager I really want to engage with the fans, he stated.

The transition from assistant manager to being the main man in charge has become an ever more popular choice by clubs these days as they attempt to invigorate new change without completely overhauling a system that clearly works.

Sometimes this pays off. Sometimes it doesn’t. But this situation feels like the right choice by a Swindon Town side that oozes potential but simply requires a strong leader capable of guiding them towards League One and beyond. 

Some will doubt Lindsey’s managerial capabilities. I certainly am not one of them.

'It’s a different role in many ways,’ he admitted.

‘I am doing a lot of press, I’m dealing with agents and it is a completely different role to being assistant manager.

‘How do I see the transition? I’m a hard-working man and will just get on with it. It’s my job and I will put every day of every minute into this job.

‘I’m a humble man, a normal guy and I will have a really hard-working football club behind me who will put a shift in every week,’ he added.

‘They will be organised, I will be detailed with the work on the training ground and how we are going to play.

‘All I can do is my best by that,’ said Lindsey.

‘I’ve worked under a lot of managers. Some really good managers whom I have taken a lot on board and also some not-so-good managers and have learnt how not to do it.

‘I’ve always looked and learned and taken in as much information as I can.

'I’m really clear on how I want to work and how I want the team to play and the environment I want to create,’ he added.

Lindsey’s appointment delivers continuity with players and fans alike. He is a familiar face that players can trust and is also well-received by fans who watched him in the dugout last season.

However although he worked under Garner last season, doesn’t mean this is a like-for-like replacement whereby Lindsey is without his own ideas.

He has his own ideas, beliefs, and criticisms. Lindsey felt the club should have done better against Port Vale in the play-offs but feels he can use that experience to do even better next season.

‘This is a football club that wants to play a brand of football. I understand that brand of football and it’s the only way I know as a coach,’ said Lindsey.

‘From the player's point-of-view I know them and they know me and nothing really changes in terms of our relationship.

‘I think it helps rather than someone new coming in. There will be changes because I’m the head coach as I will do some things my way now but the style of play will be very similar to how we played last season but certain tweaks in other areas.

‘Last season was in many ways a real success. We came into the building with two weeks to go of pre-season and seven signed players,’ he added.

‘We had really limited time to get a squad together which we did. We had a real belief in the squad and we trained extremely hard. We did really well.

‘We signed some more players in January and pretty much built two squads in one season.

‘I don’t believe we played particularly well in the play-off games and we weren’t as dominant as I know we can be.

‘We go two-nil up in the first-leg and had we gone three-nil up I think we go to Wembley.

‘We let Port Vale in and it was then a different game at their place. We weren’t on the front-foot and then it was a lottery on the penalties.

‘I’ve got real winners in that dressing room and I know how they felt that night,’ he said.

'It will have a positive impact because they will want to put that right and we all learn from bad experiences. 

‘We learnt a lesson that night and hopefully we can take that forward,’ said Lindsey.

Will Lindsey be a success? Only time will tell but after speaking with him inside the County Ground for over 20 minutes, here is my analysis of his appointment.

Swindon could have gone with a manager freely available, but why appoint someone who has failed elsewhere? They could have given an ex-pro his first chance in coaching, but why take a risk on handing someone the keys to the County Ground who will need to learn on the job, and potentially fall short.

Instead, they have decided to take their chances with Scott Lindsey. Not the safe choice, but the smartest choice. Lindsey has great experience within the game, he has made contacts that will only make Swindon a more attractive club, and is bursting to unleash his own ideas that he feels will improve all of his players. 

A recipe that has the ingredients to help Swindon Town fulfil their ‘big club’ identity.

By all means have your reservations, but if fans get behind their new boss then next season has the potential to be another magical moment in this club’s great history.