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Mark Cooper: Swindon Town assistant given manager's job

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments39

Mark Cooper

Mark Cooper has been confirmed as Swindon manager on a two-year deal.

The 44-year-old quit as AFC Telford boss in March to join Swindon as assistant to Kevin MacDonald.

Cooper was put in temporary charge in July following MacDonald's departure and has overseen two wins from their opening four games of the new season.

"We considered several candidates - all well qualified - but kept reverting back to Mark," chairman Jed McCrory told the club website.external-link

"The manner in which Mark has conducted himself as caretaker manager after Kevin's departure left the board with little alternative but to offer him the job.

"His work-rate and commitment to the club has been phenomenal. The board feel that Mark is capable of leading the club into a what we hope will be a hugely successful season."

Cooper, a former Exeter City midfielder, started his managerial career with Tamworth before spells at Kettering, Peterborough and Darlington.

He had been in charge of non-league Telford for only 30 days when he left to link up with MacDonald, who was appointed as Paolo Di Canio's successor at the County Ground.

The pair led Swindon to the play-off semi-finals, but they lost out to Brentford on penalties after the two-leg tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.

MacDonald quit just days before the beginning of pre-season and Cooper was subsequently promoted.

Since the competitive campaign began, Swindon have won one of their three games in League One and secured a place in the second round of the League Cup with a 1-0 win over Torquay.

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39 comments

  • Comment posted by User0542620234, at 17:22 20 Aug 2013

    spoony...more people go to watch matches outside the premier league than in it.

  • Comment posted by Fed_up_with_moaning_minnies, at 17:05 20 Aug 2013

    Course people support and follow clubs outside the prem (OAFC here) - admittedly, we're not very used to seeing a thread that is relevant to our lowly existence ;-)

    Precisely because STFC didn't go daft is why I wished them luck - though not too much! :-)

  • Comment posted by Oh Cobblers, at 17:46 20 Aug 2013

    Spoony, get stuffed. Some of us opt to support our local teams and not become another plastic fan who sits in the vast library of Old Trafford.

    Going back to the article this is an interesting appointment but I suppose he has some knowledge of League One which is better than several managers who end up there.

  • Comment posted by User0244533585, at 17:21 20 Aug 2013

    He has one of those faces where you just want to pinch his chubby little cheek, looks like a rascal :)

  • Comment posted by JimiB, at 17:03 20 Aug 2013

    @4. Spoony.

    I wouldn't say no one supports anyone outside the premiership, just that the BBC's coverage of the lower leagues is fairly lackluster!

    Local news sites [such as: thisisstfc.co.uk] see good traffic with 100's of comments on their articles. I would suggest that lower league fans are bored of being overlooked.

  • Comment posted by joe90, at 17:30 20 Aug 2013

    Spooney what a #### you are . Go buy a barcelona shirt or something !!!

  • Comment posted by User0158527984, at 17:04 20 Aug 2013

    @5 - Funnily enough, the criticism he's received so far at Swindon is all for the passive, tippy-tappy football he has us playing. Lacking any killer instinct at the moment.

    That said, I welcome the appointment after the Di Canio show of recent times. Good luck to him.

  • Comment posted by joe90, at 17:40 20 Aug 2013

    @15 spanish ****

    I think you'll find Swindon play passing football on the ground. Doesn't always work but at least we play in the right manner ,not Hoof ball.

  • Comment posted by Rob, at 17:41 20 Aug 2013

    Good luck to him. Swindon were never going to get a top manager as it's the directors who buy the players, sort out pre-season, dictate how the team play, even appoint coaches to work under Cooper. He's pretty much got no power at all. The man who has, the aptly named Lee Power, one of the directors, lives in Switzerland.

  • Comment posted by User0711452302, at 20:51 20 Aug 2013

    Im not surprised really the Swindon bord have already backed him with new players. Also Cooper is probubly the cheapest option when you take into account that another manager would want his own players in after Swindon have spent a good bit of the budget for this season already.

    Im not sure about this appointment really it don't fill me with much comfidence il be happy with survival this season

  • Comment posted by lglater, at 18:55 20 Aug 2013

    I have to say that I think this is a bad appointment for Swindon. Whilst not a fan of the club myself (and DEFINITELY NOT a Di Canio fan!) I still think the club can do better than Mark Cooper and Kevin MacDonald!

  • Comment posted by User0257216639, at 16:44 20 Aug 2013

    The worst managerial appointment since P45s were invented.

  • Comment posted by Twa Mehns Pehs En An Ingin Un An A, at 17:54 20 Aug 2013

    He's the polar opposite of Di Canio, so by definition the club's moving forward from the darkest episode in its history. (That's a comment on his management, not his politics.)

    He strikes me as a very decent and honest man. God knows that's what we needed. Feeling a lot more positive about the season ahead, even if Shrewsbury was a bucket of cold water.

    Prem troll children, you are laughable.

  • Comment posted by Sussex by the Sea, at 17:23 20 Aug 2013

    Anyone who has had Barry Fry as a boss must be a saint. Good luck to him.

  • Comment posted by User0664497421, at 18:30 20 Aug 2013

    Some of us support our local team and are lucky enough for them to be in the PL, plus they aren't Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool!

  • Comment posted by Mitch25, at 22:05 20 Aug 2013

    @30

    Yeovil and Bournemouth were underwhelmed?
    Gary Johnson and Eddie Howe are considered heroes at their respective clubs.

  • Comment posted by firstoldmen, at 21:38 20 Aug 2013

    Sorry but I can't resist.

    Cooper is a mini version of the clubman you really need.

  • Comment posted by poshblueboy, at 16:53 20 Aug 2013

    Local medical supply companies will be busy selling neck braces for the lump it as high as possible football ethos. We had him as manager at Peterborough United and he was terrible. Terrible signings, terrible style of play, terrible attitude. Non league football is about his level, just.

  • Comment posted by User0225004661, at 00:30 21 Aug 2013

    OVERSEAS FOLLOWER OF THE TOWN. MARK COOPER SHOULD DO A LOT BETTER THAN THE LAST TWO WHO WERE PUT IN CHARGE

  • Comment posted by User0079056286, at 23:49 20 Aug 2013

    He will do ok.I saw his team play Peterborough and they passed the ball around better than Posh and only just lost 1-0. They have some good young prospects on loan from Spurs.

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