THERE is a new dawn at Swindon Town – and David Flitcroft will be front and centre of it.

Town supporters have waited more than a week to see their new manager officially unveiled but on first showing, it appears well worth it.

As he sat alongside Town chairman Lee Power in front of the assembled media at the County Ground yesterday afternoon, Flitcroft gave the appearance of a man brimming with quiet authority, both confident and realistic in equal measure and ready to jump headfirst into the sizeable challenge that is ahead of him.

And a challenge it certainly is, with a threadbare squad, no pre-season schedule and a shortage of backroom staff all tasks that sit waiting in his in-tray, yet all issues that the new manager immediately tackled head on.

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Flitcroft hoists the Swindon Town scarf above his head. 

Although no new signings are imminent, Town’s recruitment drive is already thoroughly into overdrive with Flitcroft at the helm, a remit taken on from Power at his own insistence.

Friendlies are being sought, with tentative feelers put out to a host of clubs, including local rivals Bristol City and Bristol Rovers – a tasty prospect even in pre-season.

And a clearer staffing structure is now in place, with Tim Sherwood having moved on following a brief and ill-fated stint as director of football, with Flitcroft’s trusted assistant Ben Futcher arriving as number two.

If Flitcroft is half as good a manager as he is a talker, Town seem to be onto a winner.

Changes had to be made following Town’s pitiful 2016-17 season that saw them relegated to League Two and as is always the case, it is the fans who have been hardest hit.

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New Swindon Town manager David Flitcroft talks to the media

Flitcroft knows he has a job on his hands to restore faith in his side from the stands but as first impressions go, he is the man for the job.

“Supporters are going to be disillusioned but I think the biggest thing is that the chairman has appointed someone who sees things differently,” said Flitcroft.

“I didn’t want to be head coach, I made that quite clear, I wanted to be a manager and manage people and lead and enjoy standing here leading a football club that’s had tough times over the years.

“There will be passion and commitment and work ethic. We can all say that when we come into a new football club but now I have got to display that in abundance.

“I have got to make sure that the fans get behind us and I have got to make sure the players commit to the fans as it works both ways.

“I have to try to get the fans falling in love with the team and get them falling in love with the football club.

“A football club is about the supporters and that’s what we have to try to bring together but they will only come out if the thing looks right on the pitch and they feel it.

“As a fan, you feel it, you feel that emotion and it hurt everyone getting relegated. Swindon Town being in League Two doesn’t seem right, but it is reality.

“I have got three boys myself and I want them to have good role models and this is where it starts. I want dad and mum to bring their kids to the ground and see role models on the pitch.

“People have got to see passion and energy in what we do and hopefully we will build a team to do that.

“If we commit to the supporters, I am sure listening to everyone who has talked to me about Swindon, they will commit to the team.”

Amid his unveiling, it was made immediately clear what the requirement is of Flitcroft this season – simply the small task of guiding the club back into League One at the first attempt.

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Media gather in the Imagine Cruising Suite at the County Ground. 

Town owner Power left the room in little doubt that Flitcroft was the right man to deliver promotion from League Two, having done so with Bury back in the 2013-14 season, but now that show of faith must be acted upon.

Although his chairman may have heaped plenty of pressure on his shoulders right on day one in his new job, Flitcroft gave no hint of a man daunted by the challenge that lays ahead.

“I have been out of work for six months and not had that pressure on a Saturday,” said Flitcroft.

“I wanted that feeling when you come in on a Saturday. I never took it for granted and I missed it.

“Talking to the chairman, the ambition to get out of this league, if he hadn’t mentioned, I would not have been interested in taking the job. Now it’s about how you do it.

“I love doing this, I love being a manager and galvanising a team and building a team.

“I have come into this situation, I know the remit I know what we are trying to achieve and I want that in my life.”