Exclusive: Martin Ling speaks to Total Sport about STFC exit

Former Robins manager Martin Ling has opened up on his difficult decision to walk away from Swindon Town Football Club in December of last year, and has thanked fans and all those surrounding the Robins for their dedicated and unwavering support.

Ling took over the Swindon Town hotseat for nine games during the 2015/16 season, following the departure of Mark Cooper.

In his stint as the Town boss, Ling managed to steady the ship after a turbulent period of poor form, and was able to secure 18 vital points during his tenure.

Fans were shocked to hear of Ling's resignation from the role on December 29, after just 56 days in charge of the League One club, citing health concerns as the reason for his departure.

Speaking exclusively to Total Sport, Ling shed light on the situation for the first time since stepping down from the managerial position.

"At the time it was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make in my life, to walk away from a club that's very close to my heart. It was a dream job for me and to walk away was very, very hard but my health comes before anything else. And at that time it was impinging on my health, so it was the right decision to make at the time," Ling began.

"It's only recently that I have come out of the back end of that (period of illness) The last six weeks have been me getting back to my old self.

"It was frustrating because when you feel you're clear of it (mental illness) you don't know where it comes from. I'm not totally au fait with where it comes from and how it comes on but all I know is that I now know an awful lot more about the illness than I did previously.

"It didn't take me as low down as it did when I was at Torquay, but it still took me to some dark places that I don't want to visit again," Ling added.

Warning signs

Despite leading Swindon Town into a rich period of form and consistency, Ling soon realised something was not quite right and the warning signs began to present themselves, despite the Robins' rise.

"At the time I just knew I couldn't do the job and I knew that I would have only got worse so I did think it was the right decision to take, for me on a personal level," Ling explained.

"It (the results) was one of the things that helped convince me to be honest, I know that sounds stupid but I was feeling low even when things were going well.

"Everything that I expected of the job was there, Luke Williams and Ross Embleton were absolutely magnificent in what they were doing and it was a happy team on the surface. But Ross is one of my best friends, and I know Luke very well - and I knew I was hiding something from them. Because even though on the outside everything seemed happy and I could put up that front, deep down inside I was dying."

Decision

Ling soon realised it was time to priortise the things most important in life, a decision which since has indicated to him that future football management is now out of the question.

"A lot of people will understand, there's bigger things than football. I loved the job and everything about doing the job but it just gave me a reality check that full time football management will never be entered again by me personally," said Ling.

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't work in football in different roles, but actually being manager of a football league club again - I know now that I won't be taking that option.

"Even though sometimes, sitting here now I'm feeling well, I'm feeling good and I'm feeling positive - but I have to realise that I felt well, good and positive the last time when I took the job at Swindon," he added.

Gratitude

The former Town icon revealed he naturally had some reservations when taking on the Swindon job due to previous health issues, but admitted the club and chairman Lee Power stood by him resolutely when he informed them of his decision to resign.

"I was apprehensive when I took the job because of my previous health issues, but I didn't think they were going to come back on top of me as soon as they did," said Ling.

"Lee Power was absolutely first class, even to the level where I worked for Lee for two months but Lee paid me till the end of June this year.  

"After I had left and told him the decision, I didn't expect nothing more than that, I'd done my two months and had been paid for the two months, Lee came down to London met up with me and told me of his decision. I was flabbergasted because it doesn't often happen in football.

"I will always hold him in massively high regard for that gesture of generosity and human kindness. He saw what I was going through and he knew I didn't want to leave. By him making that decision that puts him in such high esteem, for me," Ling added.

Pride

Speaking of his decision to take on the Town job in the first place, Ling admitted that while it was a risk, everything just seemed to fit together.

"There are two ways of looking at being a success there. I had no managerial or coaching experience there but my five years as a player there were the best five years of my career and sometimes people say don't try and recreate something that was so good.

"I could have gone there and spoilt what I had. But while I was there I felt unbelievably overwhelmed by the support of the supporters and also the support of everyone in and around the club and it just had the right vibe."

Despite departing the club prematurely, Ling has taken plenty of pride from his work with Swindon.

"The one thing I can always say, and the thing i'll take is there are not many people who actually play for and manage a club but I've actually done that at two places now, one being Leyton Orient and obviously Swindon," Ling said.

"It was a short tenure and will be remembered as a short tenure, but for me that illness could have come back during whatever I was doing.

"I believe football management is a hard job to do. I am not an advocate to say football management brought on my depression, I've obviously got a brain that's liable to get depression and I have to put coping mechanisms in place. Is that more difficult to do being a football manager? Yes it is," Ling added. 

Swindon connection

Now feeling in a better place with regards his health, Ling is maintaining his involvement across the football sphere, and insists his links with Swindon Town remain strong.

"I'm still very much in touch with the club, I speak to Ross (Embleton) on a very regular basis because we're very good friends and our families are close, so I know what's going on"

"I'm looking from afar and I laugh to myself when they come on (TV/radio) and talk about which players they're taking and what they need.

"Like every manager they want one more player or two more players and nothing's changed. You always want more players and I feel they need a few more senior players. Ross sometimes comes on the phone and I'm always here to give the best advice I can give and I always feel I can be a sounding board for him and Luke because I've been around a bit longer than the pair of them."

Each weekend, as full time approaches, Ling admits there is always one result he looks out for.

"I've been looking out for the Town results every week and I'm actually commentating on one of their games. I've just got back into doing a bit of work with BBC London and one of the games I'll be doing is QPR vs Swindon next Wednesday. If the crowd look up on the gantry in the press box I'm likely to be there," he said

"Radio commentary is something I was doing before, which I really enjoyed, so that's come back around again. It's in and around football and using my knowledge is a good way of moving forward for me," Ling added.

Rivalry

One of the most prominent results during Ling's Swindon spell was a last gasp 2-1 victory over high-flying Walsall - a victory which ended a five game unbeaten streak for Saddlers' boss and close friend of Ling, Dean Smith.

Reflecting on the match, Ling said: "I think we were a little bit lucky on the night but it stands out for obvious reasons. Dean is my best mate and to put one over on him was pleasurable. It's the only time we've ever met (as managers) and it's going to be our only football league game together.

"When I speak to Dean, which is as regular as I speak to Ross, I always tell him 'i'm a better manager than you because I played you once and I beat you once'," Ling joked.

"But they (Walsall) were flying at the time and we didn't play overly well that night and rode our luck, and I think the significance of the result was massive, we needed to get ourselves out of trouble," he added.

Resurgent 

Ling's Swindon side then followed up this remarkable win with a 4-0 demolition of Chesterfield at the Proact Stadium.

"That one wasn't a lucky result," Ling said.

"It was probably our most complete performance of my games. To be going away from home and winning 4-0. But again after the game I didn't get that buzz that I should have done and you can't turn your back to that. I didn't make a 24 hour decision, woke up one morning feeling bad and said 'thats it'. It was a build up over time and I just didn't feel right." he added.

Despite what turned out to be a short tenure, Ling knew he could offer something to what was a Swindon side in disarray, sitting joint bottom of League One.

"I always felt that I had a part to play of getting them away to safety," Ling admitted.

"I had a keen interest in the results after I left, even though after I left my health did go downhill. Not quite to the complete state it did at Torquay. I was fine to get myself well again, with a couple of hospital stays to prove how bad the illness was.

"The fact that I was still looking for results and wondering how things were going proved to me I wasn't as bad as when I came out of Torquay, where I was in a state where I didn't care about anything."

Future

Taking positives from his spell as Robins manager, Ling predicts only good things for Swindon going forward.

"What I would always like to remember is that the nine games I was there gave them a kick start to the 2015/16 campaign, which Luke and Ross then took forward.

"I think they will be a really good pairing together and, like I had to at Leyton Orient, Luke will be learning on the job because that's how the job is. It's something I think he will relish to take on and Ross will be a massive support behind that," Ling explained.

The club philosophy and ethos remains the same under the Luke Williams era, something which Ling believes is the correct way to run a football club.

"The philosophy is something that was sold to me when I spoke to Lee, the philosophy of fetching youth players through to the first team and the philosophy of balancing the books of the football club. For me that's the proper way to run a football club. It's one of the situations where you need time to develop the philosophy and it doesn't happen over night, it's a process that you go through. 

"They'll need a fair wind, and a couple more senior players. I think if you're building young and your philosophy is to pass the ball you still need some older heads to pull it together when it's going bad, to save the dressing room," Ling explained.

Continuing his involvement in football, Ling is now using his expertise to coach with Chigwell based grassroots side Colebrook Royals.

"I'm doing now what I did before, going back into the coaching of grassroots, without being in the pressure cooker of being a football manager. I'm doing it for the enjoyment. A lot of ex-football managers can sit on their backsides but that's not the case with me, I need to work for my peace of mind," said Ling.

"I'm with Colebrook Royals at the moment working with the elite players at their club. Off the back of that I've had three or four other clubs who have come to me to ask if i'll work with their elite players. It's working with the best young players in clubs to show them how to go to that next level.

"I believe there can be a philosophy at any level, doesn't matter if it's a professional club or a Sunday morning club, you can teach young players to play the right way - I always feel that I can improve people and I think if everyone in football took that emphasis on, it would be a better place because of it," Ling added.

Total Sport would like to thank Martin Ling for giving his time for interview, and wish him the best for all future endeavours.