Ian Holloway says he found himself turning off the TV when watching games during his four-year break from management because the tactics replicated by a majority of managers across the pyramid are "boring."

But Swindon boss Holloway reckons it is wrong to blame manager for every coach wanting to play the ball out from the back. Instead claiming it is the rule change allowing defenders to come into the penalty area for goal kicks that has proven more influential.

Holloway, 62, last week signed a new long-term contract at Swindon having steered them away from League Two relegation trouble since taking over last October.

And he said: “Everyone gives the credit to Pep but it’s not really that. It was the rule change so you can get two or three defenders into the box and the centre-forward has to wait outside, they can’t come in.

“Some teams are good at it, some are awful at it. But football is about different things. When there are opposites it works quite well. When everyone is trying to do the same thing it’s quite boring. Why play to your side’s weakness and not strengths?

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“Fashion, it goes round and round,” he continues. “It might take five years to get back to where it was. It might take 40 years. Some of my clothes I kept and now they’re coming back.

“I used to like bootcut jeans and I know my clobber will come back in. Then again I don’t care, I’m wearing it anyway.

“It’s about communication. But you still need a big centre-forward, you need someone who can head it in the box. You have to be good in both boxes - that never changes. The unpredictability of football should always be there.”

The Sky Bet EFL Every Minute Matters Relay is a gruelling 4,000-kilometre 28-day journey that features an incredible 72 legs, stopping off at each and every EFL club before culminating at Wembley on 21st April. But unlike traditional charity events, the ‘Every Minute Matters’ relay isn’t asking for fans to donate cash but instead is asking fans to give up just 15 minutes to learn CPR.

The relay is the latest phase of Sky Bet and British Heart Foundation’s pioneering Every Minute Matters campaign which set a goal a year ago of encouraging 270,000 football fans to learn CPR – the equivalent to three Wembley Stadiums – by May 2025. With less than two months to go, the campaign has hit a remarkable 235,000 – meaning Every Minute Matters is within sight of its incredible target.

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