Marcel Lavinier backs new boss Jody Morris to bring a winning mentality to the County Ground

Marcel Lavinier has backed Jody Morris to bring a winning mentality to Swindon Town, following the 44-year-old's appointment as the new head coach. Total Sport’s Joe Acklam spoke to the defender after Swindon’s draw with Gillingham.

Lavinier won the FA Youth Cup, under-18 Premier League, under-18 Premier League Cup, and Premier League National under Morris during his time with the Chelsea under-18s as part of a team which included Jamal Musiala, Reece James, Connor Gallagher, and many other recognisable names. 

The Swindon full-back said that the new boss will work the squad hard, but that Town had pulled off something of a coup to bring him in. 

Lavinier said: “I worked with Jody [Morris] when I was in the under-18s and he is a top manager. 

“He wants the best for his players, he will be honest, he will work us hard, I will tell you that, he will definitely work us hard. 

“But if he comes in then it will be a credit to the club because he is a fantastic manager. 

“His man management is good, but also the intensity that he will bring to our team and to our training sessions will make us fitter, stronger, and we will come with a different energy about us. 

“He will install that mentality in us [to want to win every game], because when I was working with him at under-18s, we won the quadruple. 

“We won every competition that we were in and that is because we were relentless. 

“We weren’t happy just winning one, we wanted to go and win every competition and that was the mentality set throughout the whole team. 

“Every game we knew what we needed to do to achieve that and then we went and did it.”