Mark Kennedy said that his Swindon Town team will not be intimidated by the atmosphere as they visit Chesterfield in League Two.

A new-look Swindon team will visit the home of the National League champions to open the League Two season on Friday night with the hosts the current favourites to win the fourth tier title at the first time of asking.

9,000 supporters are expected to be at the game with the Spireites riding a wave of positivity after a 98-point season, but Kennedy is not intimidated by that atmosphere.

He said: “What we have seen so far is that we have a strong group of people, how they react when there are 8,000 fans and we will be under the cosh at some point, I can’t answer that until it happens.

“We are all new to each other but I have the utmost confidence in the group.

“There is nothing that is going to happen, unless something ridiculous happens, that the players haven’t been through before.

“I think [Didier] Deschamps might have said it in the Euros, you can’t practice for 20,000 people at a game, it is impossible to do.

“It is just about being professional, mentally prepared, and experience is a good thing because you have been through it – stuff like that is not going to be a problem.”

With Kennedy taking his first game in charge of Swindon with a vastly different squad to last season, the head coach said it couldn't be a tougher first test.

He said: “It is as tough of a test as we can get and I said to the guys already, not a game I would have particularly picked, I wouldn’t be disrespectful to any of the other teams in the league because there are some outstanding teams.

“Everybody wants a home game and we have got an away game.

“Paul [Cook, Chesterfield manager] has got an outstanding coaching career, he is hugely respected in the game, has a lot of games under his belt, and a fabulous style of play.

“You look at the job they did last year, it was just incredible.

“It will be the same type of style, he has always had an attractive footballing side, and I was lucky enough to meet him when I was working at Ipswich.

“I am really looking forward of having the privilege of managing Swindon and also against him and it will be a tough game.”