Tafazolli: Swindon Town don’t fear anyone

Centre-back Rayan Tafazolli insisted Swindon Town “don’t fear anyone” as they gear up for another shot at League Two promotion.

The defender came off the bench in the second half as Town sealed a 2-1 victory over League One Leyton Orient at the Nigel Eady County Ground.

Ian Holloway’s side missed out on the play-offs on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign.

But 34-year-old Tafazolli believes they are equipped to push for promotion once again this time round.

He said: “I have always said that our goal has got to be to win the league. Aim for the stars, and if you fall just short and land on the clouds, then we might finish third, and everyone would take that right now.

“Going into the season, we don’t fear anyone. We just need to keep our fingers crossed that we don’t get any more injuries or unnecessary red cards.

“I genuinely believe that we can really push, because we have got a top squad, a top manager, a coach in Gav Gunning who really knows his stuff.

“There is no reason why we shouldn’t be up there this season, in my opinion.”

Meanwhile, Town have confirmed they will field a rotated side for their trip to Forest Green Rovers in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, due to injuries within the squad.

A post on the club’s social media channels read: “Following careful consideration after an unprecedented number of injuries during our 2026/27 pre-season campaign, the Club has made the decision to field a Swindon Town XI for this Saturday's fixture against Forest Green Rovers.

We fully appreciate that many supporters may have already purchased tickets and made travel arrangements for Saturday’s match against Forest Green Rovers, so the Club felt it was important the fixture still went ahead in some capacity.

However, following two more injuries sustained on Tuesday evening and following in-depth conversations with our medical department, we felt it was important to protect our first-team players ahead of our Carabao Cup First-Round clash against Cardiff City on the 8th of August.

While we appreciate that this will leave some supporters feeling frustrated, we still hope we can provide you with an entertaining encounter on Saturday.”