SWINDON Town head coach Ben Garner says he wants to create an elite environment for his players and credited his sport science and medical team for going the extra mile to make it happen.

Perhaps lost among many high-profile appointments at the County Ground this summer, Town brought in Ricky McFarlane, George Keen, and Joe Triolo to work behind the scenes and ensure the playing staff are in peak condition each week.

With an extremely short pre-season in the bank, Town appeared to stutter slightly against Salford City last Saturday before recovering to dig out a 1-0 victory, mostly through sheer determination and an extraordinary level of early fitness.

Afterwards, head coach Garner tipped his cap to the three young men behind the scenes for helping to make it happen.

Garner said: “They’re brilliant. They’re great characters and excellent practitioners – they’re brilliant at their jobs.

“We’ve got Ricky and George who work on the sport science side. And not just fitness levels, but the amount of detail they put into nutrition and recovery, it’s brilliant.

“Joe too, who has come in on the medical team, they will all do anything possible to help the players at any time of the day.

“That’s what we’re trying to work towards – we want an environment where, both on and off the field, players get everything they need to perform. We want to create an elite environment here.”

Garner suggested that elite environment has already helped to bear fruit as the players understand they will be given every chance to succeed at Swindon, as long as they are willing to put the work in themselves.

The Town boss – who has previous experience working with Premier League talent – believes completing the hard yards behind the scenes will provide tangible benefits on a Saturday.

Garner said: “It’s hugely important to create that environment, especially as you go up through the leagues.

“If you look at the pace of the game, especially at the top level, you’ve got to be unbelievable to play in the Premier League if you’re not athletic. It’s the same now as you go through all of the divisions, you need to be physically robust and resilient.

“On Saturday, we were mentally and physically fatigued, but character and fitness levels got us through.

“Great organisation and team spirit helped us too, and it was a thoroughly big three points for us.”