After Swindon captain Ollie Clarke suffered an ankle injury at their training ground at Beversbrook Sports and Community Facility in Calne, Wiltshire, this week, manager Holloway said there were some “strange things happening” at the club. The 61-year-old added he would ask his wife to “cleanse the area” as it is close to an ancient burial site – which some say brings bad luck.
He told BBC Radio Wiltshire: “I’m absolutely devastated so I’m going to try and cleanse the training ground area because people are telling me it’s haunted. There’s a graveyard somewhere near. Honestly, I’m not joking. I think our training ground is very close to an ancient burial site so 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 have lost Clarke, Ryan Delaney, Paul Glatzel, Harry Smith, Sean McGurk, Rosaire Longelo, Aaron Drinan, Grant Hall, and Kabongo Tshimanga to injury this season. Plus, they sit 22nd in League Two and haven’t won in the division since mid-September. It’s no wonder that the charismatic Holloway is doing all he can to arrest their bad run of results.
In 1993, then Birmingham City manager Barry Fry urinated on all four cornes of the pitch at St Andrew’s to ward off a reported curse on the club. Holloway, however, stressed he will not be doing that.
He added: “I don’t want to do what he did, I think he had to urinate on the corners of his pitch but I’m going to get my wife to come up with her sage. 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.”
Holloway’s Swindon, who are one place above the relegation zone, take on bottom of the table Morecambe on Saturday, November 23, in a huge League Two clash.
