Former Owl Di Canio named Swindon boss

Former Wednesday striker Paolo Di Canio has made a dramatic return to English football by becoming the new manager of Swindon Town today.

The Italian, who also played for West Ham, Celtic and Charlton Athletic, takes over from Paul Hart, who left the County Ground following Swindon's relegation to npower League Two.

Ironically, it was Wednesday who sent Town down after beating them 3-1 at Hillsborough at the end of April to confirm their relegation.

Di Canio had been linked with the manager's hot seat at Hillsborough following Alan Irvine's sacking. The 42-year-old revealed he had received an offer to manage a League One club, but he refused to name them.

He turned the offer down, citing that the timing wasn't right, but it now seems likely to have been Swindon following his appointment at the County Ground today.

The former Lazio striker signed for the Owls in August 1997 from SPL side Celtic for a fee of £3 million, while Dutch winger Regi Blinker also went in the other direction.

He made almost 50 appearances in the famous blue and white stripes, scoring 17 goals along the way, but his time at S6 came to an end in January 1999 when he completed a £1 million move to West Ham.

His last game for the club came in infamous style when he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground in the Owls' 1-0 victory over Arsenal, something which saw him suspended for eleven matches.

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