MICHAEL Doughty hopes to be part of something special at Swindon Town ahead of the start of the new League Two season today.

Doughty begins his second campaign as a full-time Town player when the team travel to Scunthorpe United this afternoon having already made quite the statement both on and off the pitch.

The midfielder was voted Player of the Year for the 2018-19 season by readers of the Advertiser after finishing as the team’s top scorer with 14 goals in 33 appearances.

Two months later, he signed a two-year extension to his contract, keeping him at SN1 until the summer of 2022.

Doughty also had two loan spells at Town between 2016 and 2017 – part of seven temporary moves away from then parent club Queens Park Rangers – and says it has always been in a Swindon shirt when he has produced his best football.

The decision to sign a new contract was therefore an easy one, and he now hopes he can help build tangible success for the club under boss Richie Wellens.

“I have always felt connected to the club in some way, I have always found that my best football was being produced here,” said Doughty, who signed on a free last summer after being released by Peterborough United.

“You can chase different opportunities and get your head turned, but I have always respected that (connection to the club).

“As a player, there is nothing better than feeling that you have got a good connection with the people and the fans, and also that you are playing well.

“I haven’t always found that at the clubs I have been at, so I just wanted to have some continuity.

“At QPR, I was constantly going on loan and then I had short spells at other clubs and it never really clicked as much as it clicked here.

“It has been well documented that I had opportunities elsewhere, but while I am playing well and while there is scope for growth – and I feel the club has a lot of that – then it was really a bit of a formality (to stay).

“Legacy is a strong word, but I would rather have a connection to one club than multiple clubs.

“If we can do something special here, similar to what Luton and Portsmouth have done, then I will look back on my career more happily than if I had 12 or 13 spells at different clubs.”

After an intense six-week pre-season period, Doughty is raring to go for the first taste of competitive action at Glanford Park this afternoon.

The 26-year-old hopes to continue his impressive exploits of last season in the hope it can help Town mount a genuine push for promotion to League One.

“My personal expectations are to contribute in terms of my productivity as much as I can with goals and assists,” said Doughty.

“A collective goal is to be promoted at the end of the year – I’d love to go up automatically.

“And to stay injury-free hopefully and have a 46-plus game season. If I can do that, then hopefully I will have had a good one.”