Iffy Onuora Slams Swindon

Former Swindon Town manager Iffy Onuora has spoken to the press after his sacking from the club this afternoon. He released a nice thank you message to the fans and memories of his time at Swindon, however talking about the way things were handled, Iffy was not so happy.

‘I have spoken with the Board and they have mapped out their plans for next season. It has happened fairly quickly but whilst I am disappointed, I understand that the club want that big name to put bums on seats early in the season, which is important.’

‘My argument was, and still is, that a period of longer term stability was important to the club. The club wanted to go a different way and we have held a frank and honest discussion.’

‘The club want to get the profile back but my thought process was that we could have brought the team through, especially with the younger players that we have here. I suppose it is a conflict of ideas.’

‘I am not bitter, but there was an element of doubt once the season had come to an end.’

‘There was an offer to keep me at the club, but in reality the new manager will want to look at the club from the bottom up and he wouldn’t want the former manager sitting in the wings. I don’t think that would have been beneficial and I guess there would have been a little bit of pride at stake too, I’m not afraid to say that.’

‘The circumstances were unfortunate. I look back on the chances missed, posts hit and penalties not converted, but that’s just how narrow the margins are in football. The reality is that if we had stayed up, the whole thing would have been looked at differently.’

‘I don’t harbor any grudges and will look back at my time here with a lot of fondness. The fans have been magnificent from day one and I will dust myself down and get on with things.’

‘I have a holiday planned now which is timed well, but this strengthens my resolve to make a success of being a manager,’

Speaking about how the situation was handled Iffy held back no punches when spoken too late yesterday about the potential arrival of Dennis Wise.

‘The whole situation is not ideal, particularly bearing in mind the flowering of the young players at the club, ‘ said Onuora.

‘I have not got a problem with Dennis Wise – I do not even know him, But the club have done this before, looking for a quick fix by spending money.’

‘What normally happens is that players come in on big wages, which is fine if everything goes as it should.’

‘But if it does not, then you are left with a big financial burden that can lead to trouble.’

‘It’s not so much about who they are bringing in, it’s about the philosophy behind it.’

‘It’s a gamble with money again, like it was in the Neil Ruddock era, and only time will tell if it works this time.’

‘It looks like trying to build the club from the top rather than from the bottom. I just wonder why the club can’t take the lead from clubs like Southend, Colchester and Carlisle.’

‘Those clubs have shown that if you build with a young, hungry manager and you stick with him, then you can get success.’

‘I had been pushing for the chance to put my plan for next season to the board since the Bristol City game, but I kept getting told, ‘we cannot make it today’, but I think that was a bit of a smokescreen for what was happening in the background. I do not think it’s even on the cards for me to stay on in another position.

‘The club do not do things officially as perhaps they should. If they did, then we would all be the wiser now.’