LUKE Williams is relishing the opportunity of guiding his Swindon Town team into the first local derby of the season.

Bristol Rovers joined Oxford United in being promoted from League Two last season and will bring a following of nearly 3,000 to the County Ground tomorrow, having sold 2,500 of their 2,888 allocation on Wednesday.

Despite being in the dugout when Swindon travelled up the A429 to the Kassam Stadium last season in the Football League Trophy, this will be the first time Williams has been at the helm.

Whilst he is looking forward to the atmosphere and it is one that has been on the calendar since the fixtures were announced back in June, Williams is keen to look at it as just another chance to pick up three points and continue their steady rise up the league table.

“I think it’s going to be exciting,” Williams told BBC Wiltshire.

“I think the players are going to be really up for the game and these games.

“Bristol Rovers and Oxford (United) really stand out so they’re all looking forward to it and it’s an opportunity for us to get more points on the board but it’s also got that added edge.

“I think seven points from 12 is fair.

“We are very upset with the performance at Chesterfield but other than that, I think we can be fairly pleased.”

Town have enjoyed a week off in between games for the first time this season, while Bristol were in action on Tuesday night as they took Chelsea all the way in the EFL Cup in a 3-2 defeat.

Williams was keen to use the extra time off to judge the physical condition of his squad but did not want to push them too far before such an important tie.

“We need to try and test (the players) to get a good understanding of how fit or unfit some of the players are and, of course, we need to try and address that,” he added.

“A week is nowhere near enough to get them to run around aggressively for 90 minutes.

“It’s a good week for us to now be able to gather some information.”