WE hope Swindon Town manages to solve its public address system in time for the home game against Crewe on Saturday.

It will be a tremendous shame for both club and fans if the necessary repairs cannot be made in time, as the club would potentially lose out on revenue and fans would be deprived of a favourite vantage point.

There is no evidence that anybody is at fault here, and certainly not the club. PA systems, like all infrastructure at sports grounds, are prone to wear and tear, and problems can manifest themselves without warning.

Nor should any blame be laid at the door of the council, which is insisting on the system being brought up to standard on pain of the Don Rogers Stand’s capacity being restricted.

It is perfectly proper that such rules are in place as they are intended to protect fans from potential harm.

Plainly, if there is an emergency at a football ground and a large number of fans are unable to hear safety announcements, there is immense potential for tragedy.

In view of Town’s reputation for looking after its fans, we’re confident it would rather close its gates entirely than expose a single supporter to risk.

There is no reason to believe any such situation will come about, though.

The ideal outcome now would be for the required work to be ‘doable’ prior to match day, and the signs from the club inspire optimism.