Mark Kennedy has gone about implementing his own style on Swindon Town this summer, so what can fans expect from his team this season?

When the 48-year-old was first appointed back in May, we looked at his Lincoln City side to see what he might look to do with Swindon; now for those of you who haven’t traipsed to West Country villages or down to the South Coast, here is how Swindon have been trying to play.

There is a slight tweak in formation as Kennedy tended to prefer a 343 at the LNER Stadium and at Swindon, he has mostly used a 352, although this subtle change has not altered much about the roles the players are asked to perform.

How Swindon set-up in possessionHow Swindon set-up in possession (Image: Newsquest)

In possession, Swindon roll from their base shape into something of a diamond-1-5, with the holding midfielder, mostly Nnamdi Ofoborh, screening the back three, with the defensive trio spreading about the width of the penalty area to create some space but without giving away too many gaps in case of turnovers.

The wing-backs are still the ones who create almost all of the width, Rosaire Longelo and Tunmise Sobowale hug the touchlines but stay deep enough to be passing options out from the back whilst still forcing opposition defenders back to prevent them from crowding up the pitch. They are tasked with attacking their marker one-on-one and looking to create, either by crossing or linking up with a teammate to work the ball into a better position.

The remaining two midfielders fill in the half spaces to act as a link between the defence and attack. Ollie Clarke tends to act as the more defensive of these two players but also uses his ability to drive from deep to move Town up the pitch against deeper defences, something that Jamie Russell told The Moonraker that he wants from his midfielders. This is the area of the squad that has been admitted to be incomplete, the hope will be that Joel Cotterill will add more creativity centrally through incisive passing, his ability to shoot from range, and a tendency to drive with the ball.

The front two is where we have seen the most variation depending on who is playing the position. Harry Smith seems to be an unquestioned starter and he looks to occupy defenders, rarely straying away from the middle of the pitch, and using his size to link play if Town need to go longer or pin players deep when Swindon work through the thirds.

Paul Glatzel and Aaron Drinan appear to be competing to play alongside him and offer different things. Drinan has looked to play off the shoulder more, running in behind to give Town an option over the top and also latch onto flick-ons from Smith. Glatzel tends to drop deeper and get involved with the play, exchanging passes with midfielders to create central overloads before finding space to get on the end of chances.

Speaking in his first press conference and on multiple occasions since, Kennedy has mentioned his focus on the out-of-possession game. Marcus Bignot has also mentioned wanting to be “the hardest working team in the league” and referencing how the team’s work without the ball would help them to play with it. This emphasis on the game without the ball has been noticeable and the most promising aspect of Town’s play across their pre-season slate.

Kennedy’s Lincoln side were not an especially aggressive pressing side but were always compact without the ball, and here that has been some change. Swindon have at times retreated into their shape and been difficult to play through, but they have also looked to squeeze teams very high up the pitch.

 

 

Town have looked to trigger their press by giving one centre-back time on the ball whilst limiting their options, ushering the ball to one side of the pitch and then pouncing as soon as a pass is played.

Playing against a back three, like in the Eastleigh game, one striker will lead the press with the outside midfielders stepping up to limit their passing options as the team shifts as a unit across to one side of the pitch, forcing the opposition to play a risky pass or a long ball which Town’s man mountain trio at the back will hope to deal with.

This has produced good results in each game so far but was especially effective against Eastleigh. Their defenders appeared unsettled as they were forced to go long and eventually, Kelvin Davis’ side abandoned playing goal kicks short. There was one particular moment in the second half as Swindon squeezed them down the right that a loose pass was played into the middle almost straight to Drinan, but he was as taken aback as anyone else and couldn’t sort his feet out quickly enough to accept the gift he had been offered.