11 hours ago
Former Swansea head coach Luke Williams working at Bristol Airport while on gardening leave
Luke Williams, who was the head coach of the Championship club Swansea City as recently as February, is now working at Bristol Airport.
A photo of Williams at the airport, wearing uniform, was posted on social media on Saturday, prompting a reaction of disbelief among many people, in some cases questioning whether the picture was some sort of a hoax.
Advertisement
A source close to Williams has since confirmed to The Athletic that the 44-year-old has been employed at Bristol Airport, which is in the south west of England, for the last two weeks. Williams' job involves helping disabled and limited-mobility passengers around the airport terminal.
The former Notts County and Swindon manager is on gardening leave since being sacked by Swansea in February after 13 months in charge at the Welsh club, and, on the face of it, there is no financial need to work while he waits for another opportunity in football to come up.
However, Williams has always talked about the importance of a good work ethic — 'in my opinion, motivation in life is everything', he told The Guardian in a wide-ranging interview in February 2024 — and, according to those close to him, he was keen to do something meaningful with his time rather than sit at home.
It is a highly unusual tale but, at the same time, in keeping with Williams' backstory. In that interview with The Guardian, Williams explained how he had loaded lorries for British Home Stores, and also drove minibuses to and from airports and nightclubs, to help to fund his coaching career in the early days, when he was earning £1.50 ($2) for every player that attended his sessions.
Williams also applied to get on an electrician's course when he left Swansea for the first time, two years ago, when he had been working as assistant manager to Russell Martin.
He subsequently took over at Notts County and led the club back into the English Football League via the play-offs, playing an expansive and attractive brand of football that prompted Swansea to appoint him as head coach in January last year.
()
