Benson calls for senior players to step up (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Benson calls for senior players to step up

6:00am Saturday 15th September 2012 in Sport By Sam Morshead

PAUL Benson has called on Swindon Town’s experienced players to stand up to be counted and help lead the Robins out of their mini early-season slump.

Town have lost three games in a row prior to this afternoon’s trip to Carlisle in League One, the club’s worst run since Benson arrived in Wiltshire in January.

The striker is convinced it will not take long for him and his teammates to emerge from their dip in form but, in the meantime, he stressed the need for those who have been in the game for several years to come to the fore.

“Three defeats in a row is not the best run of form so we’re going to go there and get back to where we were at the start of the season. “We’ve had a good week of work and we’re going to go to Carlisle in a positive fashion looking to pick up three points,” he said.

“I’ve been at clubs where they’ve lost three games in a row but at Swindon no, I hadn’t even tasted home defeat so that’s new as well. “It’s a bit different but I’ve got experience of being at clubs where things haven’t gone so rosily and that’s when you need your big players and your senior players and your experienced players to get together and drag yourselves out of it and start picking up points again. “Sometimes results can change just like that, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re playing or whether you’re home or away. “If you put enough work in and you’re pushing in the right direction the result will come.

“We had some really good form - Brighton, MK Dons and Crawley were really good performances. We know we’re not going to be as high as that level every game but we need to reach a level of consistency which is going to be enough to see us pick up points on a regular basis.”

Benson has happy memories of Brunton Park, where he scored twice for his previous club Charlton in a 4-3 victory in October 2010.

And the 32-year-old is hoping to enjoy another happy trip to the north west this weekend.

“Away at Carlisle is not an easy place, I’ve played there a few times. Luckily I’ve had experience of winning there and that’s always a positive,” he said.

“Results can come out of anywhere and we’ve put some good hours in on the training ground this week and we’re ready to go up there and hopefully we won’t see a performance like Preston. “I managed to get a couple in the game we won up there. I got the winner in the last minute.”