NOTTS VICTORY: A PLATFORM FOR PROMOTION OR ANOTHER FALSE DAWN?

As Swindon Town managed to come from behind and secure an away victory over Notts County at the weekend, TotalSport Swindon’s Ryan Walker gives his assessment on whether the win can be a turning point for the Robins this season or if it is just another false dawn.

Rewind to the start of the season and Swindon fans were hopeful that this would be their year for promotion. 

Having been relegated down to the lowest echelons of English League football two seasons ago, Phil Brown’s managerial appointment and concurrent summer signings gave rise to Town being tipped as one of the favourites for promotion. 

However, 21 points from just 16 games with the team currently occupying 13th position in the League table makes for glum reading. 

Admittedly, Swindon are only six points off the playoff spots, but it’s a combination of recent form and the side’s style of play that has created a division amongst some fans.

Prior to Saturday’s well-earned victory over Notts County, the Wiltshire outfit had gone six games without a win scoring only one goal during that time. Statistics that don’t reflect a playoff chasing team.

But has the weekend’s performance presented Swindon a platform on which to build as they strive for success?

Phil Brown has held the helm at six clubs since the birth of his managerial career in 1999, with his biggest achievements seeing him earn promotion to the Premier League with Hull City in the season of 07/08, and taking Southend United to League One in 2015. 

These figures show that Brown is a manager more than capable of taking a team to the higher realms of British football. But this season has been tough on the 59-year-old as he struggles to get the best out of a team that should be winning more matches.

Football is as much a mental sport as it is physical. Perhaps even more. 
And whilst a long winless run will have undoubtedly lowered the confidence levels within the camp at SN1, the positive weekend result will have boosted belief within the squad, whilst also taking the pressure off of having to score.

In Nottingham, there seemed to be a hunger within the Town side that saw them play expansive attacking football intertwined with a willingness to produce shots on goal as they went in search of a win. And this style of play should be the norm for a team full of pace and flair.

Don’t be fooled, Swindon Town will have to do better than winning away at a side destined for relegation in the form of Notts County if they are to convince fans that they can push for promotion. But it is a start in the right direction and that is something that can’t be underestimated.

An away trip against the high flying Colchester United at the weekend will provide a sterner test for Swindon, but victory there could set the wheels in motion as STFC look to get their season back on track.