“He’s a man that doesn’t go into any tackle with one foot, he gets stuck in and is infectious.” Those were the words of EFL on Quest host Colin Murray on Wednesday night when speaking about the recent appointment.
Holloway was appointed Grimsby Town manager on New Year’s Eve, following Michael Jolley’s departure in November 2019. With over 600 appearances as a player, the 56-year-old has previously managed Bristol Rovers, QPR, Plymouth, Leicester City, Blackpool, Crystal Palace and Millwall, guiding both Blackpool and Crystal Palace to the Premier League.
Whilst Holloway wasn’t officially in charge for Grimsby’s 1-0 win over Salford city yesterday, he was introduced to the Blundell Park crowd and watched on as his new side recorded their first win in 16 games - an important victory which moved them up to 18th in the Sky Bet League Two table.
😍 “I love you lot, I’m so proud!” 😍
— Grimsby Town F.C. (@officialgtfc) January 1, 2020
New manager @IanOllie7
addresses the Town fans at Blundell Park ahead of our first game of the decade 🙌 #GTFC pic.twitter.com/Gs4CSthQMq
Speaking on EFL on Quest on New Year’s Day, Colin Murray, Dean Ashton and Ali Maxwell gave their thoughts on what is a ‘great coup’ for Grimsby Town.
“He’s spoken on the show many times about how passionate he is to get back into management," Ashton said.
"It’s easy to just look at the sort of character he is, but people shouldn’t forget about his unbelievable record as a manager and what he’s achieved during his time and all the promotions he’s achieved with teams. It’s a great coup for Grimsby."
“It’s massive,” Quest pundit Ali Maxwell agreed. “We’ve spoken so many times about his character and infectiousness, that has to rub off on a dressing room when you have that force of personality.
“There’s plenty of things he’s going to want to get right in this Grimsby team. They’ve been struggling for goals of late and he’ll aware of that and want to work on it but I think he’ll have a decent about of time to do that and I personally don’t think there’s any threat of relegation.
“950 more fans were at Blundell Park yesterday compared to last week when they played Crawley Town, I can’t wait to see how much life he brings to this squad and the Grimsby fans as well.”
Speaking to the club’s official iFollow channel, Holloway said: “I can’t wait to take on the challenge and get hold of a wonderful football club like this and try to move it forward. I’m really excited about it - I can’t tell you how excited I am. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop, it’s been fantastic!"
A HUGE win for @officialgtfc 🙌
— Quest (@QuestTV) January 1, 2020
What can @IanOllie7 bring to the Mariners? 🤔#EFLonQuest | #UTM pic.twitter.com/Z8l0cqlbUn