It's probably fair to say it's been something of a difficult season so far for Swindon Town.

Following promotion from League Two at the end of last season, the Robins now find themselves locked in a relegation battle, with the pressure growing on manager John Sheridan following a string of disappointing results since his appointment at The County Ground back in November.

Indeed, Sheridan even suggested he was considering resigning following Swindon's defeat to Gillingham on Saturday, although he has subsequently confirmed that he will stay with the club for the time being.

But away from their current struggles, just how do some of Swindon's past managers compare to each other, in terms of the impact they had during their time in the dugout at The County Ground.

Here, in order to help find out, we've taken a look at the ten best Swindon managers of recent times, based on their points per game record during their time with the club, according to Transfermarkt.

We start this list with Phil Brown who was appointed at the County Ground in March 2018, following the departure of David Flitcroft to take over at Mansfield.

Although he was unable to take Swindon to the League Two play-offs that season, Brown was handed a two-contract by the club in May 2018, although he would not exactly get that far into that deal.

Indeed, Brown was sacked by Swindon in November 2018 with the club 17th in the League Two table after winning just five of their opening 17 league games that season, as Brown left the club with an overall average return of 1.28 points per game.

Next up on this list is Swindon's longest serving manager this century, both in terms of length of time and games, in the form of Andy King.

After an initial spell in charge of Swindon during the latter part of the 2000/01 season, King was replaced that summer by Liverpool icon Roy Evans, only to return to the County Ground dugout in December 2001.

King would then stay there until he was sacked in September 2005 with the club bottom of League One, with the former Everton midfielder's biggest success at the club seeing him guide them to a place in the third-tier play-offs in 2003/04, as he left with a points per game average of 1.34.

Having been appointed Swindon manager in December 2008 with the club struggling in League One, Wilson was able to ensure that the Robins avoided relegation to League Two that season.

The following season was an impressive one for Swindon and Wilson, as he guided them to the third-tier play-off final, where they ultimately missed out on promotion to the Championship with a 1-0 defeat to Millwall at Wembley.

Wilson was unable to replicate that success the following season, and left Swindon in March 2011 with the club in the League One relegation, having averaged 1.42 points per game during his time in charge at The County Ground.

Following the sacking of Phil Brown in November 2018, Wellens was appointed Swindon manager with the club 17th in League Two, and would guide them to 13th by the end of that season.

The following campaign was a memorable one for Wellens and Swindon for many reasons, as they secured promotion back to League One as League Two champions, with the season decided on a points per game basis following its early curtailment due to the pandemic.

However, Wellens would then leave Swindon early in the 2020/21 season to take over at League Two promotion hopefuls Salford City, having averaged 1.45 points per game during his time at The County Ground.

Following the resignation of Kevin MacDonald in the summer of 2013, Cooper made the step up from assistant manager at The County Ground, to take charge of the club on a full-time basis after a brief spell in caretaker charge.

His first season in charge saw Cooper secure an eighth placed finish in the League One table 2013/14, and he guided Swindon to the play-off final the following year, where they missed out on promotion after defeat to Preston Wembley at the end of the 2014/15.

Cooper then left Swindon in October 2015 with the club only outside the relegation zone on goal difference after an eight game winless run, with the now-Forest Green manager having averaged 1.5 points per game while in charge of the Robins.

Following the sacking of Luke Williams in the wake of the club's relegation to League Two at the end of the 2016/17 season, Flitcroft was appointed as Swindon's new manager in June 2017.

With the aim of securing an immediate promotion back to League One, Flitcroft had guided Swindon to seventh in the League Two table by March 2018, at which point he rather suddenly left the club to take over at the Robins' fourth-tier promotion rivals Mansfield Town.

At the time of his departure from the County Ground, Flitcroft had averaged 1.57 points per game as Swindon manager, although in the end, neither they nor Mansfield would win promotion that season.

Having previously spent two spells with Swindon during his player career, making almost 200 appearances for the club in all competitions, Ling was appointed as the Robins' manager in November 2015, as Swindon's permanent replacement for Mark Cooper.

However, Ling's time in charge of Swindon would prove to be sadly brief, with the former midfielder forced to resign less than two months later for health reasons.

In total, Ling had won five and lost four of his nine matches in charge of the club, and left them 16th in the League One table, having averaged 1.67 points per game during his time in charge at The County Ground.

With Sturrock having been out of work following his sacking from Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon moved to bring the former Dundee United striker to the County Ground in October 2006, as a replacement for Dennis Wise.

Sturrock would certainly make an impact at Swindon, guiding them to promotion from League Two to League One in his first season in charge, with the club then making an encouraging start to life back in the third-tier the following campaign.

However, Sturrock would then leave Swindon just over a year after joining them, resigning from his position to return to his former club Plymouth Argyle, having averaged 1.72 points per game while in charge of the Robins.

Given his history and reputation, Paolo Di Canio's appointment at Swindon Town was always going to raise eyebrows, but from a football perspective at least, it was certainly a move that worked.

Taking over in May 2011 after Swindon's relegation from League One, Di Canio guided the club to an immediate promotion back to the third-tier as League Two champions, also reaching the final of the EFL Trophy that season.

However, Di Canio then resigned from his position with the midway through the following season in February 2013 in the wake of financial issues at the club, which saw the Italian depart the County Ground with an average of 1.92 points per game.

Following his retirement from playing at the end of the 2005/06 season, Wise immediately made the move into management, taking over as Swindon manager in the summer of 2006.

It was a role that Wise would enjoy a hugely impressive start to, as he picked up 31 points from the opening 15 league games of the League Two season, taking Swindon to third in the fourth-tier table.

However, it was at that point that Wise's brief time with Swindon would come to a sudden end, as he left his role to take over at Leeds after compensation was agreed between the two clubs, with the former England international having averaged 2.07 points per game during his time as manager of the Robins.