A highlight of last weekend’s game was a third goal since his return to the club during the January transfer window for striker Omari Patrick.
Manager Keith Millen said: “I think he’s got three goals now since he’s been back and he likes that channel of coming back onto his right foot from the left.
“We didn’t get him in those areas enough in the first-half, partly because of the wind, but we couldn’t get him running.
“After the break he got in there a few times and he’s a threat against anyone. We’re trying to utilise his strengths, and he’s in a good place at the moment.”
“Jordan Gibson is another,” he commented. “I felt after Salford, and I spoke to him, he needed a little bit of a break, a bit of a rest.
“We had a chat, people don’t realise that he’s come over here, didn’t really have a break in the summer, so he’s had continuous games through the summer, come here, played nearly every game.
“That’s a big load for someone of his age and experience. Sometimes you have to look at that and think, well, ok, he might need to come out of the firing line for a week or two just to try and freshen him up, physically and probably more mentally sometimes.
“He was really good in the practice game on Tuesday. He looked really fresh and sharp, and he looked ready for selection.”
The quality of both goals bagged at Colchester could well provide a boost to confidence, with the importance of the remaining 16 fixtures not lost on anyone.
“It’s the same as when I first got here, every game is just as important,” he told us. “We had more games then, we’ve still got a lot of games to go. It’s not going to turn around in one game.
“We stopped the run of defeats, which I felt was really important. We’ve got a draw last Saturday, can we build on that now? That’s how we have to look at Saturday’s game, against a good opposition.
“We’ve got to understand as a team that they have a lot of possession. I don’t mind that. I’ve played against so many teams at different levels where the opposition have a lot of possession. You can’t worry about that.
“It’s where they have the possession you have to worry about. If it’s a lot of possession around the halfway line, what’s that going to do, how’s that going to hurt us.
“It’s understanding what Swindon do, but also I understand we’ve got to be dangerous. We scored two good goals on Saturday, which helps with confidence, and I do think we’ve got a threat going forward.”
“I think it’s getting that balance of having an awareness of the importance of the game, because we’re going to have a lot of games similar from now to the end of the season, so you can’t hide away from it,” he continued.
“You have to accept it as the challenge, that’s what’s at stake. I think it’s important they understand that, but they need to also understand it’s the process, the way we play, what we do leading up to the game, that’s going to give you hopefully three points.
“It’s not a must-win at the moment, or people call it a six-pointer. It’s not a six-pointer. It’s getting that balance of understanding the importance of the game, but understanding the bigger picture as well.
“I knew it was going to be a fight from the first day. I knew there would be ups and downs and that’s exactly how it’s panned out. We’ve had a good run and a bad run.
“Swindon were on a bad run before Saturday, I think they were five without a win, and they’re a team going for the play-offs, so every team in this league has ups and downs for different reasons.
“There’s reasons why I think we’ve had the bad run, not just one but a few reasons why, and we’ve got to get over that.
“The result last Saturday will give us a bit of confidence and hope, and we’ve got to try and take that into Saturday and try and win the game.”
