The Holloway call - The secret behind Swindon's early transfer business

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There you are on your holidays after a long season with an uncertain future once you return home. The phone rings, and a strong Bristolian accent enthusiastically greets you.

For quite a lot of players this summer, this has been the start and the end of their search for a new club. Swindon Town have got their business done early this season, an edict from Ian Holloway that was a must for how the summer would go.

The 62-year-old is not in charge of negotiations; he has handed them off to Baillie Coupland and Anthony Hall, but he remains the conductor of everything else in the recruitment room - possibly his most pivotal role has been as chief salesman.

If you are paying close attention to the new signings this summer, then a clear theme will have emerged from their interviews. One conversation with Holloway has been all it took to convince them that Swindon was the right place.

In previous summers, talks with players have dragged on as they weighed up their options. This summer, Joe Snowdon, Filozofe Mabete, James Ball, Darren Oldaker, and Tom Nichols have all joined within days of their departure from their last stop.

"Ian rang me, kind of out of the blue to be honest," said Snowdon. "I was really taken aback by how he spoke. He made me feel welcome even before I had got here and made me feel part of his plans. That is the reason why I am here."

Holloway said last season that he was prepared to sell players on how they would be feeling next summer when Swindon had won promotion and then the following year when they had done it again. Anyone who has met him will know that his enthusiasm is infectious, and it clearly translates over the phone as well.

Mabete said of his chat with Holloway: "He wants to get promotion to League One. So, when he called me, I didn't think twice. When I spoke to him on the phone, I couldn't wait to start working together. I liked the way he spoke to me, it was a good conversation. The main thing he said to me was he was trying to get the team to League One, and that is the main reason that I am here."

Ball, who just experienced promotion with AFC Wimbledon and knows what teams need to do it, was bought in immediately: "I was on holiday last week and I received a call off the manager and he sold it to me and I can't wait to get started.

"He just kind of told me about his ambitions for the club, this season and the season after and the project he has here. You could see from when he took over last year that the improvement was massive."

But it goes beyond just lofty goals of winning the league, anyone can say that. Oldaker spoke of the footballing vision he set out and how well it aligned with him, making the offer impossible to turn down.

Snowdon had a similar experience, recalling how impressed he was by the knowledge Holloway showed about his game. He said: "I have never had a coach or a manager who is so open and honest from the first conversation. Straight away, he was dead welcoming and couldn't say enough positive things about me, which I was really taken aback by.

"For a manager who has been in football for so long and dealt with so many good players to speak to me the way he has, I was taken aback, and I appreciate it so much. That is why I decided to come here."