Addison takes Swansea job

New team: Addison and Nicholas together at the Vetch

Former Atletico Madrid boss Colin Addison has been confirmed as the new manager of Swansea City.

Addison takes over from John Hollins, who was dismissed on Wednesday along with assistant Alan Curtis after three seasons in the job.

Addison will have Peter Nicholas, who has quit as boss of League of Wales champions Barry Town, as his number two at the Vetch.

Addison has a rich and varied managerial career including spells in Spain and Kuwait.

His last job in the Football League was at Scarborough when he failed to save the Yorkshire club from relegation to the Conference two years ago.

He led non-league Hereford to one of the great FA Cup giantkillings against Newcastle in the 1970s, and enjoyed a successful spell with Derby County.

In Wales, he is best known for his time with Newport County and Merthyr but spent last season guiding Yeovil to second place in the Nationwide Conference.

Peter Nicholas is expected to move from Barry

Former Chelsea and England international midfielder Hollins took over at the Vetch prior to the 1998/99 season.

Swansea beat Premiership club West Ham United in the third round of the FA Cup that season, while also making it into the promotion play-offs before losing to Scunthorpe United.

Hollins led the Swans to the Division Three title the following season, but they were relegated last year as the team struggled to get to grips with Division Two.

The Swans sit in mid-table after starting the season with two wins, two draws and two defeats, the latest of which was a 3-1 loss at Plymouth on Tuesday night.

Indifferent

The secretary of Swansea's supporters club has wholeheartedly backed the decision to sack Hollins.

Said John Button: "I think we need a disciplinarian like Addison at the Vetch.

"And after our indifferent start, I think it's the right time to change because we need to do something in this season that's in front of us."

Former assistant manager Curtis said he hadn't seen the dismissal coming, but said: "There's been talk and whispers for quite a few weeks now.

"It became apparent that we needed a good start to the season.

"But these plans may have been going ahead for quite a while and if we had won games it might have postponed the inevitable."