Football Manager blames winless run on haunted training ground

Ian Holloway has asked his wife to “cleanse” the Swindon Town training ground over fears it could be haunted.

Swindon have two points from three league games since he became manager and Holloway said that there were “some strange things happening” after the captain, Ollie Clarke, ruptured a tendon last week.

Swindon’s training ground is apparently close to an ancient burial site.

“I’m absolutely devastated so I’m going to try and cleanse the training ground area because people are telling me it’s haunted,” Holloway told BBC Radio Wiltshire. “There’s a graveyard somewhere near. Honestly, I’m not joking. I’m going to get my wife to come up and say sorry to all these people and hopefully we’ll have a bit more luck.”

Swindon did salvage a point away at Accrington in a 2-2 draw on Saturday but remain 22nd in League Two and are still searching for their first league win under Holloway.

His comments evoke memories of Barry Fry, who, as Birmingham City manager, said that he urinated in all four corners of St Andrew’s in an attempt to ward off a curse. Birmingham did then go on a run of seven wins in 10 games.

“I don’t want to do what he [Fry] did... but I’m going to get my wife to come up with her sage,” Holloway said.

“I’ve done the Glastonbury stuff and the hail and welcome – great if you believe it. Do I? Really I’m not sure but I’m going to get it just to help because there’s some strange things happening.”

Swindon face Morecambe, who are bottom, at the County Ground on Saturday.

Holloway, 61, has previously managed Bristol Rovers, Queens Park Rangers, Plymouth Argyle, Leicester City, Blackpool, Crystal Palace, Millwall and Grimsby during 28 years and almost 1,000 games as a manager.

“We’ve got to win more games and I’d prefer to do it now, straight away, because then we’ll all feel a bit better,” he added.

“We’ve got to take everything out, polish it up and be brutally honest with them because they’ve had some from me [Saturday] because that wasn’t good enough first half.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission