When Town were drawn against Norwich City in the First Round of the Carabao Cup on Friday, Conor Thomas couldn’t help but smile.
Not only will the Reds get a chance to strut their stuff against Championship opposition early on in the 2017/18 season, but it will present the midfielder with an opportunity to pit his wits against his close friend, James Maddison.
The pair grew up together in the Coventry City Academy and now run a sports programme alongside each other in the Midlands.
And Thomas is relishing the prospect of going toe-to-toe with his best mate in August, while hoping that he will be able to walk away from Carrow Road with the bragging rights.
“It is a really good fixture for us, especially to play away at a Championship ground and potentially a Premier League ground against good players,” he told swindontownfc.co.uk exclusively.
“It will be good to test ourselves against them and hopefully we will give a good account of ourselves.
“It is a good fixture for the fans as well.
“I think it will be good for the fans to get a feel for the new players that we bring in and see the manager’s new style of play.
“Hopefully it will be an entertaining fixture on the night and both sets of fans enjoy it.
“James is one of my best friends in football and I have a lot to do with him.
“We’ve been together throughout the off-season so hopefully we both get a run out, Swindon come out on top on the night and I get the bragging rights!”
