Just below his right eye, Ian Holloway sports a scar from surgery to remove a cancerous spot. However, it seems that Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has also left a mark on Ollie - one that hasn't yet healed. Lineker is approaching the end of his 26-year reign as king of a Saturday night staple, but Holloway is convinced that the former England captain has never forgiven him for overseeing the relegation of his beloved Leicester City to the third tier in 2008.

In his new wide-ranging memoir, which fires shots at everything from football to ghosts, UFOs and dog mess, the Swindon Town manager doesn't hold back. "Here's a cat among the pigeons. Gary's not a nice man in my experience and maybe it was because of my time at Leicester," Holloway states. "All I know is he was unpleasant to me and, in my view, dismissive and disrespectful.

"He said, 'Oh, oh, Ian, it wasn't like that'. I said, 'Yes you were, mate. I knew you were'.

"A few years later I saw Alan Shearer at Wembley and he said, 'I loved that time when you forced Gary to shake your hand'. So he could see it, too."

"While I was at Blackpool, I was invited on Match of the Day but it was clear Lineker didn't want me there. He didn't speak to me once and didn't even say hello. At the end, I went over and shook his hand and said, 'Hello - perhaps you don't want to speak to me because of my time at Leicester, but hello Gary, how are you?'

Holloway insists TV coverage of football demonises referees and in his book he is surprisingly supportive of VAR in principle where most of us would happily throw the baby out with the bathwater. Again, Lineker is in his firing line.

Holding court at the County Ground, he told the Mirror: "Referees get one split-second to make a decision - only one look at it - but all you hear is people saying how s*** they were from watching Match of the Day.

"I'm sorry, but Gary Lineker and his little crew are making them look even more s*** because they can look at every incident from every angle.

"If referees had access to all the camera angles that Lineker and his friends have in a studio, they might get more decisions right.

"Nobody has any faith in referees because everyone has watched Match of the Day and Lineker and his pundits would slaughter every ref every Saturday night.

"Do you remember Brian Clough tearing a strip off John Motson on Football Focus and telling him Jimmy Hill (Lineker's predecessor as Match of the Day anchor) and the BBC experts were lecturing us too much instead of showing actual football?".

"And here we are, 40 years later, doing exactly the same thing."

Holloway, now a distinguished member of English football's 1,000-game club as a manager, also criticises Arsenal for failing to heed Manchester City striker Erling Haaland's "stay humble" message. He was thoroughly unimpressed by teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly mimicking the Norwegian star's yoga meditation goal celebration.

"I doubt if Erling had any idea the reaction his advice would get after City's 2-2 draw with Arsenal in the 2024/25 season," Holloway said.

"To say it gave Arsenal the hump is an understatement, but what I didn't like was the way Arsenal behaved in the return match at the Emirates.

"Why was Lewis-Skelly taking the mickey by copying Haaland's goal celebration? Until you've won something, son, I'd advise you to just focus on playing football because I wouldn't have been happy if I was his manager.

"And what is Gabriel doing in Haaland's face after they scored the first goal? The referee should have booked Gabriel for ungentlemanly conduct.

"When I was growing up, senior pros would never have allowed that Lewis-Skelly celebration to happen because if you did, you'd better be able to back it up with a few winner's medals in your locker first. I think I'm right in saying Lewis-Skelly - who is a fantastic prospect, no argument - has won nothing yet."

Respect is a fundamental aspect of Holloway's ethos. He was appalled when his triumphant Swindon players taunted dejected Bradford defender Jack Shepherd following the latter's last-minute own goal, which resulted in a dramatic 5-4 victory for the Robins last month.

However, at the age of 62, he's experiencing a rejuvenation in Wiltshire, having transformed his latest club into a hub of enjoyment and guided Swindon from the depths of the Football League to a mid-table finish.

"This place was feeling a little bit sorry for itself, but we've climbed the table and we've had a laugh doing it," he stated.

"Football is about enjoyment so we've had some fun and I can't thank the players enough. I've only been here six months but we found some consistency and now they've extended my contract another three years - happy days."