‘They’re terrified’ – Ian Holloway gives a practice tour of Swindon to try to prove the ghost claim

On November 20, 2024By Pranco

Ian Holloway has doubled down on his belief that Swindon’s training ground is haunted – and gave talkSPORT a live tour to try to prove it.

The Robins have had a tough start to the 2024/25 season and currently sit 22nd in League Two.

Ian Holloway had an unusual excuse for Swindon's problems of late — Ian Holloway had an unusual excuse for Swindon’s problems of lateCredit: Rex

This is after just two wins in sixteen league matches this season.

As a result of their poor form, Holloway was appointed Swindon’s new boss at the end of October and has since been trying to get to grips with life at the County Ground.

But while results on the pitch have improved since his appointment, their luck on the training pitch is enough to haunt anyone.

Recently, Holloway’s captain Ollie Clarke tore his ankle tendon during training.

On Monday, the veteran manager went viral for claiming the Beversbrook Sports and Community Facility is haunted by supernatural spirits. He ordered his wife Kim to remove them.

Now Holloway has taken talkSPORT to the training ground to prove his point, which you can watch in full at the top of this page.

“I’m not saying we lost because of a ghost, your absolute chicken nuggets with double barbecue sauce,” Holloway begins.

“What I’m saying is that the first meeting I had here, this door was behind me, right? I’ll walk over there now and I’ll show you how thick it is, yeah?

“I closed it, and I heard it, and I walked back in, and it opened on its own, completely and utterly.

“And the guys said, ‘Oh, don’t worry Gaffer, that’s just the ghost.’ And if you look this place up, there’s an Anglo-Saxon cemetery about ten yards from our training ground.

Holloway and his players are convinced the training ground is haunted, but they don't take it too seriously — Holloway and his players are convinced the training ground is haunted, but they don’t take it too seriously

“So what I said was, I’ll help our boys in any way I can with the confidence and what have you, and I’ll get my wife to come and try to clean the training ground because they’ve been in areas like that. a bad time for such a long time.

‘But that ghost didn’t head one in on Saturday, we didn’t defend your wonderful chicken nuggets properly! Can you imagine me letting the boys go with that?

“But last night I’m going to walk you to this window. It was struck from within. And the poor people who work here one evening are terrified.

‘There’s CCTV footage of a white apparition coming down the hall and smashing through a wall, right?

“And it’s owned by the city, so the Times, which didn’t fool me, is looking into it and they’ll get their hands on the footage.”

At this point one of Holloway’s Swindon players dons a white sheet and appears in the recording.

Holloway returned to management earlier this year after a four-year hiatusCredit: Rex

“I think he’s visiting us now!” You idiots,” Holloway jokes.

Hosts Jeff Stelling and Ally McCoist then pressed the Swindon boss on how his wife plans to resolve the situation.

“Well, she’s a heathen,” Holloway explained. ‘We’re going to Glastonbury, she believes in pagan rituals.

“What you do, you make it an offering and then you burn some sage to get rid of it. So we’re going to say sorry to people that we might be trampling on that area and that it might help, you never know.

‘As long as I don’t have to pee on the corner of every field, that’s not what I want to do. Barry Fry had to do that. What I’m trying to say is that it’s all about laughter.

“The boys are laughing today, but I’m never going to say my team isn’t good because a ghost scores against us, and I wouldn’t dream of saying that.

Ian Holloway has branded Manchester United’s players ‘wrong’ as he questions their attitude and desire

“But I’m going to help in any way I can, we’re going to have a little fun and we also have to get a lot better at what we do.”

Holloway has previously claimed that his dad contacted him from the dead by turning up the radio in his car.

He told the Podcast for life lessons: “I had a digital music player in my car. I looked at it and there was something on the steering wheel, but I didn’t touch it because my hands weren’t near it, and the light coming into the car – it hit the car completely full.

“And I looked outside and it was sunny outside, so I thought, ‘That’s weird.’ And then Mariah Carey was on and the song (One Sweet Day) was on and ‘shining down on me from Heaven’ got louder and louder and louder until it was all over the place.

“I saw it go from 10 to about 35 and it was deafening. And the moment the song ended, things went back to normal.

“And I saw myself saying, ‘Oh my…’ I was shaking. I thought, ‘Did that really happen or something? Or is that me who wishes that?’ Do you understand what I mean? And I swear he came and showed me, ‘Don’t worry son, you’re going to be okay.’ Right?

Holloway has always had a reputation for speaking his mindCredit: Rex

“Now, I never believed that, I never for a minute thought he would have ever done that, because he said it was all a bunch of nonsense.

“So the truth is, I don’t know. And did I feel it? Did I want to feel it? Was it really there? I can’t tell you honestly. But I swear to God, I saw the dial moving on its own.”

Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, Holloway’s arrival in Swindon has been a blessing.

In the four games since he took charge of the first Crystal PalaceThe Blackpool and QPR boss has overseen two wins, a draw and a defeat to support the club’s hopes of avoiding relegation from the EFL.