The good news is that Swindon Town have acted quickly to clarify the situation with regard to their manager going forward, Peter Mitchell.

This now gives them a head start in assembling the squad they want for a realistic promotion drive next season. With the positive vibes coming from Player of the Season Matt Taylor, it may be that they now have an odds-on chance of securing his services for the next campaign. He has proved that, even at 36 years of age, he has the capability, fitness and enthusiasm to lead another promotion charge.

Personally, unlike the majority, I am not jumping up and down with excitement at the appointment of Phil Brown.

There is no doubt that he has an abundance of experience having enjoyed a long playing and management career. At the time of writing it is unclear as to whether Brian Horton will remain as his assistant. Viewing their managerial records, they have over 1600 games between them, spanning the equivalent of about 40 seasons, and a win ratio of 35%. However, they have managed just three promotions – with Hull City and Southend – and all through the play-offs.

Mr Brown talks a very good game and now has what he has been looking for – a two-year contract and a mandate to, as he is fond of saying, stamp his own DNA on his team. Less than a year ago Town shelled out considerable sums on acquiring the services of Kaiyne Woolery and Keshi Anderson on 3-year contracts, so whether the new manager will be given much to spend will be interesting to see. However, you feel he must have been given certain assurances to strengthen the squad with players to his liking.

There seems little point on dwelling too much on Swindon’s failure this season but it might be interesting to look briefly at what happened and the problems Phil Brown has to overcome going forward.

For various reasons, Town missed out on a great opportunity this season. In a fairly mediocre league they should have done better, considering their squad. Without seeming to blame David Flitcroft for everything – remembering that he did bring some very decent players to the club (Taylor/Lancashire/Hussey/Knoyle/Purkiss/Richards/Woolery) - it was evident very early on that, once again, the defence looked light for the task ahead. This issue was compounded with the premature injury to the very promising Conroy and the response to this problem seemed somewhat slow and inadequate. In effect the team made the best of a poor situation and struggled for the rest of the season. Flitcroft’s stock answer about the defence was that “they would work hard again on the training ground” – but to a spectator’s eye they never seemed to really get to grips with performing solidly as a unit.

Without the involvement and contribution of Matt Taylor I have no doubt Swindon would have figured amongst the bottom eight or so places in the league. Conversely, with Dion Conroy/Olly Lancashire/Matt Preston in situ as our central defence, and an injury free Luke Norris, for the whole of the season, I feel they could easily have been in the top three spots. To win eleven away league matches – almost half of their games on the road – and finish only 9th is hard to believe. Town finished third in the “Away Table” and 15th in the “Home”, with a goal difference away of +9, but -7 at home. No prizes then for spotting where the poor performances were!

I am sure the reintegration of Lawrence Vigouroux will be one of Phil Brown’s key objectives, but getting a lot more out of Woolery and Anderson is paramount. Of the expiring contracts, apart from Taylor, the retention of Matt Preston, Ellis Iandolo, Kyle Knoyle – and possibly Amine Linganzi – would be a good starting point and provide some continuity. There is no doubt that a Brown favourite, Scott Twine, will be offered something and I hope they don’t overlook the poorly treated midfielder Tom Smith.

The highlight of the season was undoubtably Taylor’s 40-yard free kick at Wycombe, that was still rising when it hit the back of the net. A true contender for goal of the season anywhere.

I don’t subscribe to some of the views expressed recently by Owen Houlihan at the Advertiser. I don’t think Swindon Town are necessarily “locked into its own cycle (of non-success)”. These things can change almost overnight – and its largely dictated by good choices and of course good fortune - IF they choose the right manager to lead them; IF the players recruited are good enough AND IF they blend together. Look back to the end of season 2010-11. Town had just been relegated to the bottom tier and it was doom and gloom everywhere. The board decided to take a chance on maverick Paolo di Canio – and the gamble came off – although at a significant cost. He gradually assembled a huge assortment of widely different players but, somehow, they gelled and won the league at the first attempt. So you never know what’s around the corner and how it will work out.

Town has the advantage of a fairly large and loyal band of supporters and, come late July, the enthusiasm and optimism will be out in force again. Once more we will hope for a successful new season and endeavour to put an optimistic spin on everything in sight. However, for now, just like the players, we could all do with a short period to recuperate and recharge the batteries…