Swindon swift to appoint Paul Hart as manager

Paul Hart takes over from Danny Wilson (GETTY IMAGES)

Swindon have appointed Paul Hart as their new manager until the end of the season just a day after Danny Wilson's resignation.

Hart takes the reins at the County Ground with the Robins languishing 21st in npower League One, three points adrift of safety, having claimed just three points from their last 11 games.

It is a far cry from last season when the Wiltshire club, under Wilson's stewardship, were narrowly beaten in the play-off final by Millwall.

Chairman Andrew Fitton highlighted the former QPR and Crystal Palace manager's experience of relegation battles as the key reason for his appointment.

"Paul has been in the situation of having to rescue a club from the throes of relegation - the first time at Portsmouth in 2008/09 and also at Crystal Palace in 2009/10 when he was charged with keeping the club up with 14 matches to go, having had 10 points deducted in mid-season," Fitton said.

"Paul has been selected because of his experience in guiding teams away from the relegation zone, something that Swindon determined to do."

He added: "There are 13 games left to achieve this objective and so time is not on our side for any experimentation. We had to go for experience.

"Paul will begin immediately and will be deciding on his support team in due course."