PROMOTION expectations should be turned into positive energy and not hinder Swindon Town’s progress this season, according to manager Phil Brown.

A crammed pre-season schedule came to its conclusion on Tuesday afternoon when Brown’s troops lost 3-2 against Queens Park Rangers at the Championship club’s training ground.

That followed seven previous friendlies which produced mixed results against clubs ranging from former top-flight outfit West Bromwich Albion to local teams including Melksham Town, Swindon Supermarine and Chippenham Town.

While all results may not have gone Town’s way, Brown understands promotion is expected by many this season following what was a below-par campaign last term.

With expectation comes pressure, and the 59-year-old former Hull City boss wants that pressure to act as a positive on the field.

He said: “During the course of pre-season, you’re getting pictures. We’ve had about a 20-man turnover in our changing room – 12 players have left an eight have come in.

“That’s an awful lot of change. I’m not going to use that as an excuse, and I don’t want the players to either.

“But the players must understand what I’m all about, what Neil McDonald (assistant manager) is all about and what Matt Taylor (player-coach) is all about.

“And they have to understand the group as well. But the serious part of the game is that we are one of the favourites to get promoted.

“That is pressure in itself. And I don’t want that pressure to act as a negative, I want it to be a positive.

“We’ve got to embrace that and make sure it’s a positive for us.”

Meanwhile, Brown is hopeful of securing a deal with former Celtic and West Brom forward Marc-Antoine Fortune.

The experienced striker has been assessed by the Town boss following the unfortunate injury to Marc Richards during Swindon’s clash against Melksham.

Another trialist, Kyel Reid, is unlikely to join after featuring for 45 minutes against QPR, while the fate of Alfie Potter is to be decided.

“I’m very hopeful of getting Marc-Antoine Fortune,” said Brown, who will lead Town in their League Two opener against Macclesfield Town on Saturday.

“Where Kyel is concerned, I don’t think he did enough to impress me and get ahead of one or two.

“Scott Twine scored another goal against QPR and Kyel wasn’t better than what we’ve got. And I don’t want to block the pathway of the younger lads we’ve got coming through also, like Jordan Edwards, Jordan Young and Sol Pryce.

“They’re all in that race to get a first team shirt and Scott is at the forefront of that.

“I didn’t think Kyel was better than Scott, who is very close to the starting line-up come Saturday.”