IN the first of a new series of bi-weekly columns, TrustSTFC once again ask Swindon Town Football Club to take the opportunity to be transparent with its fan base.

It’s been a while since our last column, and both the wider world and football have changed beyond anything we recognise.

As a Trust, our focus for the last few years has been the ground-breaking purchase of the County Ground. Despite every barrier that has been placed in front of us, our commitment to securing the ground for the enjoyment of future fans remains unwavering.

However, with the pandemic rolling on, ownership court cases and football suffering such severe financial hardship, our short-term focus is the push for transparency and dialogue with the club, and this week that push is more pertinent than ever.

As covered in our open letter to the club, Swindon Town fans and the community, we asked for leadership, transparency, urgency and a clear plan.

Earlier this month, it was claimed the club are “on the brink” financially, with no funding in place beyond this month. The club’s accounts are also due to be published at the end of February, so there is no time better than now for the club to be open with the fans regarding the severity of the perilous situation they claim to be in.

Swindon Town fans are worried. We’ve been here before. Allaying those fears becomes so much easier if the club commit to being transparent with the fans.

We call on the club to publish the full accounts like so many other clubs do, and to give the fans clear visibility of the management accounts to date for the current financial year.

We make this call for one reason – Let’s work together! The Trust and our Red Army Fund alongside the Official Supporters’ Club and the wider community have proven time and again that we can work together and help in times of need.

We were pleased to see a response from the club in the form of their own open letter and Steve Anderson, Town’s CEO, has indeed been in touch with the Trust with regard to season tickets and plans for next season.

We’ll be reaching out to Trust members and the wider fan base to canvas opinion in the coming days – all the info will be shared on the Trust’s website, social media pages and via email.

We look forward to working with the club on a season tickets solution, and sincerely hope this is the first of many constructive, open and transparent communications from them.