Gavin Gunning said that Swindon Town need to try and give the fans some positivity going into next season when they play Morecambe on Saturday.

Swindon will play their final game of the season in a dead rubber against Morecambe at the County Ground this weekend, with neither side competing at either end of the table.

In the last few games, Swindon have handed opportunities to some of the club’s promising academy players, with Joel McGregor and Harley Hunt both receiving their first league starts, meaning that 48 different players have represented the first team this campaign.

However, Town’s interim head coach said that it would be important for his side to try and give the home crowd something to hold onto with a strong performance on the final day of the season as they head into the summer.

He said: “I think that it is important to give the fans that positivity going forward.

“I think we have shown a glimpse at the future at the club and what we have personnel-wise coming through.

“I think that the future is bright for the club. I think that those two [McGregor and Hunt] did fantastic, so we will have to see [if we play any others].

“The last two games have been about getting eyes on the younger guys and guys who are out of contract.

“I think that you have got to be fair with people, we could have been ruthless and not given these guys a chance but when you are safe and when you have won three out of the last four games, it is key to see what these guys can do at this level.”

But following the team confirming their lowest-ever league finish in the four-tier system with defeat against Grimsby, Gunning expects there to be something of a hostile atmosphere that greets the players at the County Ground on the final day of the season.

Swindon sit 19th in League Two with one game remaining, they can still finish 17th, which would equal the league position of Ken Beamish’s 1983/84 side, but they would have a lower points tally.

Gunning said: “Of course, I know they [the fans] are going to be disgruntled because this is unacceptable for a club of this stature.

“But we have got to go out there and be positive and give them a great performance in the last game of the season.”