A NEW era got under way at the County Ground yesterday, with fresh faces in the boardroom and an innovative managerial set-up in the changing room.

On the same day that Seebeck 87 Ltd bought up 99 per cent of the shares in the club, with Jed McCrory taking over as chairman and a new board arriving to take charge at Swindon Town, Darren Ward and Tommy Miller faced the press for the first time in their new roles as joint caretaker player bosses.

McCrory, the owner of Banbury United, finally saw his consortium achieve Football League approval for their takeover of the club - ensuring the Robins’ financial stability for the short and medium term.

He brings with him a new board of directors including Steve Murrall, Gary Hooper and Callum Rice, while chief executive Nick Watkins is retained. Sir William Patey, Russell Backhouse and Andrew Black have stepped down from their respective positions.

Meanwhile, Paolo Di Canio was left upset by the statement issued by Town confirming the sale of the club.

In the missive, released to the media yesterday afternoon, Patey said: “Despite the manager walking out on the club, its players and its fans the day before a vital game, Tuesday night saw a wonderful performance from the team under incredibly difficult circumstances.

“The club’s position at the top of the table is a testament to the efforts of those who will now go forward with the new owners. Losing our manager is obviously a disappointment but, as the result at Tranmere shows, Swindon is bigger than any one person.”

Di Canio reacted by sending a statement of his own exclusively to the Adver, saying: “The comments of Sir William Patey are neither an accurate nor complete version of what actually happened, and are disrespectful to the efforts, commitment and achievements that my team, my staff and I have put in and achieved since I became the manager of the club.”

Finally, Swindon have drafted in County Ground hero Fraser Digby as interim goalkeeping coach while the search for a new manager continues.

The Advertiser understands Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Phil Brown, Gus MacPherson, Terry Butcher, Peter Taylor and Andy Thorn are all interested in taking on the role.