NOBODY could have left the County Ground at 4.50 on Saturday afternoon unaware of the enormous task which faces Andy King and his players this season.

Another poor display provoked the almost customary boos as thoughts of filling 32,000-capacity stadiums seemed about as realistic as the organisation of a round Switzerland yacht race.

If Saturday's evidence is anything to go by, Town are going to struggle to stay in Division Two this season.

If things don't improve drastically, they are destined to be playing the likes of Hartlepool and Kidderminster this time next year.

Stoke's victory was emphatic, but they did not represent the cream of the Second Division.

Their goals were handed to them on a plate and it was little consolation that Town enjoyed good spells in the game because it was effectively over after 11 minutes.

Manager Andy King said that even great teams cannot be expected to recover from such an awful start. His side are not giving themselves a chance.

The team from the Potteries took their foot off the gas early on and will be delighted with the boost the result gave them after losing to Nuneaton in the FA Cup.

Town were chasing the ball all the time, the forwards enjoyed little service from the midfield Ian Woan apart and when it did arrive, it was snuffed out or there was no-one on the end of the final pass.

Viewing from the press box, there was some park football in vision over the back of the Stratton Bank and the defending for the opening two goals would not have looked out of place in that game.

The difficulty is that Town are caught in a vicious circle. They seem to lack confidence after their recent bad run but there seems little prospect of them winning a game until such confidence returns.

There may be money to spend but who is going to want to join Town in their current predicament?

It's a dismal picture and the adjectives are becoming worn out.

Somehow a combination of King, chairman Terry Brady and the players have to reinstall some pride into the town's football club, but it is not going to be an easy task, as the manager admits.

The whole situation was summed up by the first goal, which arrived after just eight minutes.

The defence has been leaking goals all season and Richard Dryden was signed on loan from Southampton to help shore up the gaps.

However, his first contribution was one which he will want to forget.

Stoke were awarded a corner on the left which was swung in by Henrik Risom. Former Town striker Peter Thorne was unable to connect, but, as Dryden attempted to clear the ball for another corner, he could only head the ball into his own net.

You knew then that it would be one of those days. The game was effectively over three minutes later and the damage was done at another corner.

Bart Griemink had pulled off an impressive point-blank save to deny Risom after he met a cross from Mikael Hansson.

However, from the resulting set-piece, Stoke striker Kyle Lightborne was able to rise at the near post and gave the Swindon keeper no chance with a well-placed header.

Town were unable to make any headway and the closest they came to scoring in the opening exchanges was a Woan free-kick which was blocked by the wall.

Stoke, on the other hand, could easily have increased their lead as thoughts turned to the 6-0 drubbing Town were handed out by Ipswich a couple of seasons ago.

Sol Davis managed to track back and clear a Lightborne effort off the line and Griemink pulled off a second save when Bjarni Gudjonsson burst through on a one-on-one.

Davis did force Stoke keeper Carl Muggleton into one save with a shot from ten yards, but other Town efforts from Woan and Danny Invincible were more danger to stewards patrolling the empty Stratton Bank than the Stoke net.

The second half was a similar story as Stoke appeared content to let Town come at them, while the home side lacked the necessary punch and guile to create openings. Stray passes meant potential opportunities broke down, further incensing the crowd.

Griemink was again called into action to save a Thorne header and substitute Gary Alexander produced a ripple of applause when his neat shot on the turn was saved.

However, the ground was already beginning to empty when another mistake led to Stoke's third, 12 minutes from the end.

Davis passed back to Griemink, but the goalkeeper ballooned the ball into the air and fell to Lightborne five yards away, who took the ball on his chest and smashed it home.

It was just amazing that, ten years after the back-pass rule was introduced, a goalkeeper could make such a hash of a clearance.

Dryden was unlucky not to make up for his mistake when an injury-time header hit the post.

But, by then, most of the 4,904 had gone home and it's going to take a marked improvement or a change of playing personnel for many of them to come back.