KEVIN Stewart says he is already starting to feel at home at Swindon as he gets set to make his competitive bow for the club.

Stewart started Town’s final pre-season friendly against his parent club Liverpool last Sunday and was also in the XI in the games against fellow Premier League sides West Brom and Aston Villa, suggesting he will be in the side to take on Bradford in the League One opener tomorrow.

The 21-year-old midfielder is one of three Reds youngsters to sign season-long loan deals at the County Ground, alongside defender Jordan Williams and keeper Lawrence Vigouroux.

Many of Town’s established stars are also familiar to Stewart, who came through the youth ranks at Tottenham, and that has all helped him to settle in Wiltshire.

“The most important thing has been getting fit and gelling with the players that are here and that’s coming along,” said Stewart.

“I know quite a few of the players, like Nathan Byrne, Jon Obika and Yaser Kasim.

“I played with them when I was at Spurs so I knew a few of them before I came here so that was good as well, it helped me settle in.

“I feel sharp at the moment and in training the programme we have been doing has been spot on. With the weights and running and the ball work, it’s been a good mix.”

Stewart also spent loan spells at Cheltenham and Burton last season, helping the latter clinch the League Two title.

Although another title triumph would be his ultimate goal, Stewart’s main focus is just to make a place in the Town midfield his own.

“I’d love to win the league, I just won League 2 and it’s a great experience, I really loved it so winning the league higher would be an even more amazing.

“Positionally, anywhere in the middle suits me, whether it’s holding or pushing on a bit more. That’s where I prefer the most.”

Stewart admits he had mixed emotions playing against his permanent employers in pre-season but he has no doubt that going toe-to-toe with top-tier teams will stand Town in good stead.

“I thought it would be a bit weird playing against the team who you are at but it felt quite normal, like a training game,” said Stewart.

“It was definitely enjoyable, it was good to play against top players and see how we dealt with it.

“We’ve played some really top teams so you do have to think a lot and keep our shape a lot.

“Playing against top teams is going to benefit us, so that when we do play teams in our league we will find it a lot easier than the games we have been playing in pre-season.”