Swindon Town First-Team Head Coach, Scott Lindsey, says he’s looking for his players to build on Tuesday’s evening’s victory over Woking in their last pre-season friendly, as they prepare to face fellow National League outfit Eastleigh this weekend.
The recently-appointed boss fielded a strong starting eleven against The Cards in midweek and witnessed a confident display by his charges who gave us a taste of their attacking prowess to record a comfortable 4-0 win at The Laithwaite Community Stadium.
A brace from Harry McKirdy along with further strikes from Jonny Williams and Ben Gladwin hit all the right notes on a humid evening in Surrey, and Lindsey is hoping his players can build on the performance and approach the forthcoming Eastleigh test in the same vein.
“I was delighted with the attitude and mentality of my players against Woking in the week, and I thought our performance was good. I saw some really promising things,” Lindsey said.
“I’ve said it all pre-season that fitness is key at the moment and has been the focus in all our warm-up games so far, and it’s really important we continue with this approach as we gradually increase the intensity in both training and competitive matches.
“As we move forward into the Eastleigh and Cardiff games, we’ll be looking to increase the workload further to ensure we’re fit and ready for the beginning of the new season.
Lindsey admits tomorrow’s opponents Eastleigh, who finished their National League campaign two places above the drop zone last term, will provide another tough test for his side.
“Eastleigh are a strong, physical side with some good players in their squad, they have a good manager in Lee Bradbury and it’s a good setup at the Silverlake too, so I’m expecting a real challenge on Saturday.
“My players will need to approach the game with the same mentality as Woking, and I want us to start quickly, gain control of the game early and attack in numbers.
“We will still be using the squad wisely and given the players the right number of minutes on the pitch. There’s still some I’m keen to look at in a more competitive environment and game time is really important at this stage of pre-season.
“We’ve brought in several new faces with more likely over the coming weeks, so we want to give the players the opportunity to build relationships on the pitch and get used to playing alongside one another.”
Tomorrow’s opponents…
Like Town, Eastleigh are three games into their pre-season campaign, having recorded two wins and a defeat thus far.
A 3-0 win over lower league Abbey Rangers was followed up with a 6-1 thrashing of Gosport Borough at Privett Park seven days later, however they did found themselves soundly beaten by League One side Oxford United on Wednesday evening, eventually going down 5-1 at The Silverlake Stadium.
Spitfires boss Lee Bradbury has been busy rebuilding his squad for the new 2022/23 season following the release of eleven players at the end of last term.
Since then, he’s drafted in seven new recruits to bolster the ranks, adding a blend of talented youth with some experienced heads.
Brennan Camp heads to The Silverlake following his release from AFC Bournemouth, while George Langston and Christian Maghoma have been added after their contracts with Watford and Gillingham were terminated respectively.
Mali-international Ousseynou Cisse heads to the south coast from Oldham Athletic, while 25-year-old midfielder Charlie Carter joins from Stevenage Borough.
Their most recent additions include ex-Carlisle United striker Tristan Abrahams and experienced journeyman Aaron Martin, with the latter coming in from Port Vale permanently.
Eastleigh will be keen to improve on last year’s campaign, where they finished 19th in the National League, 12-points above the relegation zone.
The Town friendly will enable them to assess where they’re at as they prepare for their 2022/23 season opener away at Wrexham in early August.
Swindon face Eastleigh at The Silverlake Stadium tomorrow, Saturday 16 July, with kick off scheduled for 3pm.
Tickets can be purchased online via www.eastleighfc.com/tickets/ or on the day at the club shop.
