After a start that saw Swindon have the chance to go top of the table before they kicked off against York City, the walls have caved in, with Town scoring just once and picking up one point from their last five games.

Whilst The Adver understands that Holloway’s position is not in any immediate danger, the next eight days in which Swindon face Walsall, Barnet, and Bristol Rovers could change that in a hurry if things continue as they are.

Holloway’s contract runs until the end of next season, and Clem Morfuni is unlikely to want to pay that off, but he has also shown himself to be trigger-happy when dealing with previous managers, and if the form continues to trend downwards, then he may reach for the PR win of a new manager.

What questions must Holloway answer to prove that he remains the right man for the job?

Does he have an answer to the attacking problems?

Aaron Drinan frustrated after Swindon Town failed to score against Crewe Alexandra

The main tactical conundrum facing Swindon at the moment is the same one that Sir Trevor Brooking memorably summed up by saying, “We’re not creative enough, we’re not positive enough, and we’ll go on getting bad results…”

As has been discussed ad nauseam this week, Swindon are struggling badly in attack, with one goal in the last five, but they also rank 21st in League Two for xG, 22nd for shots, and 23rd for shots on target.

The lack of player availability is a key part of this, but in spite of this, there is a key tactical problem to be solved, and Holloway needs to find a way to work around this. Much of last season was plagued by an inability to find a workaround to not having Finley Munroe, so struggling to adapt again would be a worry.

Has he found a solution to the injury crisis?

Mitch Clark receiving treatment on an injury in pre-season

Whilst injuries are often unfortunate, and many on Swindon’s lengthy list would qualify in that category, this has been going on for a long time. The likelihood of ten months of hamstring issues and calf struggles being a coincidence appears unlikely.

Holloway has spoken about investigating every avenue to come up with a solution, so what has this brought up, and will it work?

As a coach told me this week, a good manager has good players and a bad manager has bad players, so the easiest solution to the struggles is to get key men fit again. This is not something that will happen immediately, especially with multiple players out for the long term, but there needs to be a positive trend.

Has he still got his trademark energy after so much has been put on him?

Ian Holloway celebrated with the Swindon Town fans after wins

The question that I went into the summer with was whether Holloway could get over the fixations that plagued the second half of the season. It seemed like he struggled to find solutions to the problems which arose after the stress of being left to deal with the Luton Fiasco publicly, entirely on his own.

It was a positive step to see him re-evaluate various decisions that he took last season, including celebrating the little things and wanting to connect more with the fans. However, the current run of form has seen a regression in this area, as he hasn’t come over after the final whistle and has been terse in interviews.

Nobody is going to enjoy periods like this, but Holloway’s best asset is his energy, and showcasing that will be vital for keeping the belief and turning things around.