Gavin Gunning said that his Swindon Town side will be at full fitness after their visit to Edgeley Park to face Stockport County this weekend.

Town added nine new faces during the January transfer window and Gunning has admitted to managing the minutes of many of the additions as he looks to improve their fitness levels.

Gunning has made pre-scripted changes around the hour mark in each of his five games in charge and three or more substitutions during every match to help bring players up to speed.

“We have these guys and we need to get them minutes,” Gunning said following Town’s dramatic 2-2 draw at Gillingham, “There are no games for them.

“It is not as if you can play a reserve game and come in in that, so they are trying to get fit on the job, which is tough for them.

“It is not like it is a kid’s game, it is League Two, a tough standard, and we are playing the in-form teams at the minute and they are doing really well.”

However, the 33-year-old admitted that the need to manage minutes quite so rigidly should be over soon as players reach the required fitness levels to handle more football.

He said: “It is football and you have to judge it [his performance] on every game that you see, but it has been tough for those lads.

“It is frustrating because they want to play every minute and when you are holding them back then it can be tough for them.

“But that is where we are at, we have to manage those lads for one more week maybe and then after that we will be good to go.

“After Stockport, I think we will be good to go [with not having to use enforced rotation].”

Drinan said of his own fitness after making his first start for the club that he was “getting there” but was still building himself up.

He said: “I came in here off the back of an injury, so I was limited for two or three months before then.

“For the last two or three games we have been building it up slowly and then today, getting the start, obviously you want to be playing every game, but I have done that in the past and it has been negative with leading to more, so I think we just have to take it easy.”