Swindon enter the home straight

A monthly column from Swindon Link's STFC correspondent Alfie Howlett.

After eight months of racing Swindon finally have the finish line in sight.

April shall bring eight games, all of which will go a long way in determining the destiny of The Robins’ campaign.

However, while Town are close to completing their current race, has attention already turned to their next race - the 2023/24 season?

There’s no doubt the Robins’ season is in a precarious position. With games in hand and an opportunity to play teams above them at home, there’s an outside chance of Town making a late assault for the play-offs. This feat at the start of the season was considered a minimal expectation. If you add the fact that Swindon occupied a position in the top seven for the first half of the season, you’d say that the fact that they now find themselves with an eye on next season is a damning failure.

On paper there’s little difference between Swindon’s position now than there was this time last year. Ben Garner’s men found themselves requiring a late push spurred on by the fans in order to secure play-off football. Unfortunately for Swindon I can’t see history repeating itself.

Firstly, the team just isn’t strong enough. Town lack a player capable of inspiring their eleven to the next level. Both in defence and attack, the current crop are soft. Too often they find themselves bullied by organised and experienced outfits, and in attack they fail to trouble opposition back lines for a sustained period of time. So the simple answer would be that they’re just not good enough to warrant a top seven finish.

Secondly, there’s just no belief regarding the football. Last season at times the support inside the County Ground was like a 12th man, however this season it feels as if Swindon are playing with 10. This, in my opinion, is more than justifiable with the players on the pitch producing lacklustre, tedious performances which offer those in the stands little encouragement. As a result games at SN1 are uninspiring which translates to a general consensus of another damp squib of a season. In short, Swindon lack the momentum to propel themselves towards promotion.

Although on the pitch it’s been a disappointing season, off the pitch Swindon have made great strides. From clearing debts to purchasing the County Ground STFC have come a long way under the new regime. The long term future of the club looks in safe hands, which seemed a far cry away two years ago. I’m confident that Swindon now have a solid base to build from in the future.

Despite the short term pain on the pitch this campaign, you have to say that STFC have had an incredibly successful season in the grand scheme of things. Because of this, they’re right to turn their attention to next season where an exciting young coach will have the opportunity to steer a stable ship containing potential future talents.