Mark Kennedy praised the performance of his Swindon Town players as they got a morale-boosting 1-1 draw with Chesterfield in their opening game.

Armando Dobra latched onto a Jack Bycroft error after 15 minutes to give Chesterfield a deserved lead as the League Two title favourites showed why they are favoured.

After the break Swindon came back with a renewed drive and purpose and were rewarded for it as Will Wright sent a screamer into the top corner to see both teams end the opening night with a point/

Kennedy said that he felt the energy his players put into their performance was massive and getting the reward will help them push on.

He said: "We ticked a lot of boxes tonight: we have come from behind, we have got a point, we have gone away from home and we are coming back with something.

"We have conceded the goal but we showed resilience and character and after that I think we played really well in patches.

"We ticked lots of mental boxes too, which are a huge part of football and that can only give the players belief, although football does have a nasty habit of biting you in the backside.

"The performance more than anything is what pleased me tonight but it doesn't half help when you get something because you don't always get what you deserve in football.

"Hard work is something that I am massive on, I won't go into the physical detail of it but it is something that I demand every day in training.

"We have a couple who that is not natural to but tonight they showed real leadership, character, grit, determination, and just never gave up."

More than 850 Swindon fans made the Friday night trip up to Derbyshire to witness Town come and pick up a draw against the League Two favourites and Kennedy said that building that relationship with the supporters will be big for Town this season.

He said: "The away following blew me away, it just reminded me of why we do this, we spoke about football being a drug and that is why.

"I say to the players all the time, as a player you get caught in your own bubble and you forget about that sort of thing and it is only when you see it that you remember that football is their life.

"To come in such huge numbers this far away and they were vociferous, it is all I could hear before the game.

"I was just so pleased for them that they have gone away happy and proud of the team's performance and that is something we will drill into the players constantly.

"I said after the game 'Don't just go and clap them, get right up to them and make a connection and feel that energy and magnetism.'

"They just went nuts but it is coming from an authentic place and it was a good moment for me seeing them connect like that."