Former Rovers boss off to a good start at Swindon

ELEVEN months on from his sacking, Ben Garner returns to the Memorial Stadium tomorrow in charge of a Swindon Town to face Bristol Rovers.

Garner spent close to a year with the Gas, but he lost his job in November after a downturn in form.

A second chance in management came this summer at the County Ground, scrambling a team together with director of football Ben Chorley in the final weeks of the transfer window after a takeover by new owner Clem Morfuni.

Garner’s Robins have started well in League Two, all things considered, claiming 13 points from nine games, sitting 10 spots ahead of 18th-placed Rovers in the table.

Garner, pictured, doubtless will want to get one over on his former employers and Gas boss Joey Barton tomorrow.

To get the inside line on Garner’s start in charge of Swindon, we spoke to the Swindon Advertiser’s Swindon Town reporter Jonny Leighfield.

Ben Garner is someone Bristol Rovers fans know well. How has he settled at Swindon?

“Garner has settled in really well to be fair - he seems right at home already and both performances and results have been really encouraging from the get-go.”

What style of play has he deployed and what are the strengths and weaknesses of his team?

“As you may well know, Garner likes to have his teams passing the ball around on the floor - something that always goes down well at this point along the M4.

“Town have historically achieved much more when passing the ball as opposed to lumping it forward quickly, so in that sense Garner hasn’t had to stray too far from his own ideals to please fans.

“Regarding strengths and weaknesses, Town have looked pretty solid defensively, which has rarely been the case historically.

“The performances of former Bristol City goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott have certainly helped in that regard.

“On the flipside, despite the attacking talent Swindon possess, goals have been a little hard to come by. Nineteen-year-old Tyreece Simpson is learning his trade and looks unplayable at times, but then he can also waste chances and still

has a good amount to learn.”

Has Garner referenced any lessons he learned from his spell in charge of Rovers?

“Nothing specific, but he has mentioned lessons were learned. If I had to guess, I’d say his working conditions were pretty different to what they are now, hence the dramatic contrast in results.

“Also, Rovers was his first managerial job out of academy football, so I can imagine he’s taken a lot from what went wrong and seems to be trying hard to rectify those issues this time around.”

Garner had very little time to build his squad. Who are the key players in his side?

“The recruitment has been outstanding in such a short space of time. The key players are the aforementioned Wollacott, Louis Reed, Alex Gilbert and Jonny Williams. Reed is technically excellent and dictates the tempo. Brentford loanee Gilbert and Wales international Williams are clearly capable of playing above this level.”