Swindon Town begin the serious section of their pre-season on Sunday when they take on Eastleigh and there are certain things we need to learn about this team.

Mark Kennedy has had a positive first pre-season in charge of Swindon, winning four of his five games with plenty of positive signs of the players picking up his style well. Now that Swindon have come through most of the fitness-building section of their preparations, they take on sides in divisions either side of their own to get a reasonable feel of where they are.

Leading into these two matches, what questions around the squad still need to be answered?

How does Kennedy view the pecking order among his attacking options?

Whilst Swindon remain short on attacking options at present, in the two-striker system the trio of Harry Smith, Aaron Drinan, and Paul Glatzel will be heavily in the starting rotation. Smith and Drinan have a pre-existing relationship from their time together at Leyton Orient and the pair have also played together in all of Swindon’s last three friendlies, with Glatzel playing with the other team. The form of the former German youth international in the back half of last season along with during pre-season makes it seem unlikely that he would be left out once the serious matches roll around, but if Drinan and Smith continue to play together then that would seem to be the way the wind is blowing.

How much faith do they have in Pharrell Johnson?

Town’s transfer dealings this summer have seen them build a clear first-choice back three of Will Wright, Grant Hall, and Ryan Delaney. However, we are yet to see any of Delaney so far as he works his way back from an injury. Johnson has filled in for him on the left side of the back three during pre-season but with only 36 minutes of senior football to his name, is he seen as being ready for League Two football? Having seen him play in four matches now, I still don’t feel able to draw any conclusions on how ready Johnson is to play at Chesterfield in two weeks. Being left-footed makes him better suited to fill in for Delaney than Harrison Minturn, but Kennedy must decide how comfortable he feels relying on him in league action.

What will the midfield look like at Chesterfield?

As I have previously written about, it does feel like there is one, more creative midfielder missing from the current squad, but there is more to learn here. Ollie Clarke looks to be a guaranteed starter, likely as captain, providing the role of the energetic, box-to-box player. Alongside him is less clear as Nnamdi Ofoborh and Saidou Khan have both generally played at the base of midfield so far. Khan has started to play higher up since the second half against Melksham Town and this could be a role that Kennedy is looking at were the trio to play together. We are yet to see that and this could be a chance to try it in case the search for a mezzala drags on.

Who is going to start at right wing-back?

The departure of Jai Rowe without a contract following his trial shows that Tunmise Sobowale and Joel McGregor are well thought of. Sobowale remains in pole position to start at Chesterfield and has performed well so far, although McGregor has been consistently impactful during his time on the pitch and has arguably been one of Town’s most impressive performers throughout pre-season. The two are both fairly inexperienced in the EFL but fit Kennedy’s preference well and their displays in these two matches could decide who lines up at The SMH Group Stadium.