STEVE Robertson concedes that it will be sink or swim for Swindon Town Ladies in the FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division, following the release of the new season’s fixtures.

Town were promoted as South West Division One champions last season and begin life at a higher level with back-to-back away games, starting with a trip to Charlton Athletic on Sunday, August 21, before then travelling to Tottenham Hotspur a week later.

The Addicks finished as Southern Division runners-up in 2015/16, while Town’s first six matches in their new division are against teams who finished in the top-six last term.

Robertson admits his troops cannot afford to take time to find their feet in their new surroundings but added that they are relishing the challenge that lays ahead.

“There’s two ways to look at it; it’s either a baptism of fire or a good test to see where we are and how far we’ve come,” said Robertson.

“It doesn’t matter when we play these teams. We are always going to be in for a tough game. If we can catch them out early on, then there’s a chance we might be able to get off to a flyer.

“We can’t go into these games expecting to get beaten. We have to be positive and believe that we can win them.

“We can’t look at them like they are cup games, like we did last season when we played the big teams. This time, we have got four or five weeks to properly prepare for the games and hopefully, that will help us.

“Hopefully, we will do OK this season. We will just have a go and see how we get on.”

Town captain Michelle Rich is one of nine members of last season’s squad to already recommit for the coming campaign, while Robertson has also brought Georgia Walters back to the club after a couple of years away.

Robertson is still working on re-signing other members of the title-winning squad as well as further new faces, and admits he is building with the future in mind.

“We have managed to keep the core of the squad from last year together and now it’s about adding that little bit of flair around that,” added Robertson.

“I think we need four or five more players, and we are working on them, but it just takes a bit of time because the season is still quite a way off.

“We would like to get some of the local girls who have come out of centre of excellences and give them a chance. We have got high hopes for a few of our younger ones too.

“We know we are not going to win the league next season but we are building a side to challenge in the future.”