Mark’s Mountain Men – City leader on the value of physical performance

Mark Kennedy said he is making a big effort to make Swindon Town a physically stronger team this season.

Having struggled with a fairly small squad last season, four of Town’s six new signings this summer were over 6ft 4in and Kennedy said he would prefer a more physically strong side.

The 48-year-old said that top teams usually have many tall players and that it was important to him to be able to keep up in a physically demanding league.

He said: “I remember giving a presentation on (Jose) Mourinho when he got the job at (Manchester) United and the first thing we noticed was that his team grew an inch in size in the first transfer window.

“If you look at modern footballers in the Premier League, they are big and powerful players.

“If you look at the DNA of the league, it can be quite straightforward: set pieces play a big role at every level and the further down the pyramid you go, the more important they are.

“Physicality and size are a big thing, but you also have to be able to play football. It has nothing to do with what happened in the past, but in an ideal world it is something I would want.

“I spoke to a League One manager today who is at a club that is aiming for promotion or even the league title. One of the first things he talked about was size and physicality. And he has some very good players, that says something.

“This is very important at every level, but especially at ours.”

At 6ft 5in, Harry Smith is one of the tallest players brought in, but Kennedy said he can do a lot more.

He said: “I’ve worked with Harry before. His size is unmistakable and when you stand next to him he looks even bigger than he is.”

“But actually he’s quite elegant, he’s a very good footballer with a nice first touch, he can move, control the ball, he’s technically gifted, he can finish and with the right people he’s been really successful.

“What many people don’t realise is that we beat tremendous competition to try and get him. That’s a credit to Jamie (Russell) and the recruitment team.”