'He'd tackle his grandmother' - Ian Holloway shares verdict on Swindon's Bristol City loan duo | Bristol Live

Bristol City prospects Jamie Knight-Lebel and Adam Murphy will spend the season on loan with Ian Holloway's Swindon Town

It will be "tough" for Bristol City prospects Jamie Knight-Lebel and Adam Murphy to get into the Swindon Town team, Ian Holloway has admitted, after both players completed deadline day loan moves away from BS3.

City confirmed on Monday that both Knight-Lebel and Murphy would be spending the season on loan with Holloway's side in League Two. The two 20-year-olds spent much of the summer and opening weeks of the campaign in and around Gerhard Struber's first-team squad, without making a competitive appearance in the Robins' first six games.

Both players' loan deal includes an option which will allow them to be recalled in the January transfer window, but the Reds' hope is that their temporary spells at The County Ground will allow Murphy and Knight-Lebel to play regular senior football in order to help prepare them to make the step up to the Robins' first team.

Although the competition for places in Holloway's ranks will mean both players will have to earn their spot in the starting line-up, when they return from international duty, the Swindon boss has been quick to heap praise on his deadline day signings following confirmation of their moves.

“They both give us additional strength in areas that I believe we need,” Holloway told the club’s media team. “I think we’ve got an awful lot of younger players; these two are as good as the positions that I want.

“One of them has got immense experience already, Knight-Lebel. He was excellent last year out on loan, he’s a full international for his country, Canadian international, and Murph is... well, he’d tackle his grandmother, mate.

“He’s big, he’s strong, he runs, he presses, he closes. If Ollie Clarke is out for anything, he can do that role in there. Is it going to be tough for them to get in? Yeah, but it gives me all sorts of options through suspension, injuries, anything that could happen.”

Since he arrived in BS3 from St Patrick’s Athletic in January 2024, Murphy’s first-team opportunities have been limited, primarily as a result of injury. The Irish youngster had to wait the best part of four months to make his first start for the Robins’ Under-21s before missing much of the first half of last season.

In the second half of the 2024/25 campaign, the 20-year-old was a regular fixture for the Young Robins and, as a result of those good performances, joined the rest of Gerhard Struber's first-team squad for their pre-season training camp in the Algarve this summer.

Knight-Lebel, on the other hand, is well-versed when it comes to plying his trade at a senior level. The Canadian international, who already has three caps to his name, spent last season in League Two with Crewe Alexandra. In total, the Reds’ academy product made 38 appearances for Lee Bell’s side in all competitons, even popping up with three goals from defence.

Under Holloway’s management, Swindon have started the season on the front foot. The Robins currently sit fifth in the League Two table, having won four of their opening six games, and travel to Cumbria to face Barrow on Saturday afternoon.

The former Bristol Rovers boss will not be able to call upon either Knight-Lebel or Murphy for the weekend’s meeting with Andrew Whing’s squad, with both players plying their trade on the international stage, but both City loanees should be available for next weekend’s home clash with Harrogate Town.