Lucas calls for Lions spirit (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Lucas calls for Lions spirit

7:10am Friday 20th August 2010 in STFC By Anthony Marshall

DAVID Lucas is prepared to dish out a few slaps in the County Ground dressing room before tomorrow’s League One clash with Brentford.

But Town fans need not worry about in-fighting between the club’s stars, with the goalkeeper merely taking on the role of motivator-in-chief ahead of kick-off.

Lucas has been concerned by Swindon’s uncharacteristic approach to matches this season - in which they are yet to taste victory - and as a keen rugby fan, the 32-year-old has dipped into his love of the oval-ball game for an idea of how to ensure he and his teammates are ‘revved up’ before they meet the Bees.

“We seemed to have our head in the clouds for the first few minutes on Saturday at Hartlepool - me as much as anyone - and maybe we should be a bit like what you see in the British Lions videos,” the former Preston man told the Advertiser.

“They all rev each other up in the changing rooms before the game, and maybe it would take something as silly as that to get us going and go out there with a mean attitude.

“I’ll go round and slap a few faces if I have to. Why not?

“I can only speak for Saturday but it seems obvious what the problem was.

“We went out there with a bit of a lackadaisical mindset and conceded two goals in the first 12 minutes.

“Maybe if we go out with a bit more of an aggressive attitude then it might get us off on a better footing.”

Having conceded six goals in their opening three games, Town’s defensive unit has looked vulnerable at best in the early part of the campaign.

And Lucas revealed he is desperate for a shutout against Brentford to prove that the County Ground can become a fortress again like last season.

“I usually don’t hold clean sheets too highly - I would just much rather we get a win,” he explained.

“But at this moment in time it would be a good confidence boost to everyone.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about the last couple of days, and achieving a clean sheet would be a massive boost for all of us.

“We’ve got to start thinking we are going to beat everybody at home.

“That’s the mentality I always approach games with, and maybe it’s time we started bossing a few people about.”

Tomorrow’s fixture will be Lucas’ 50th appearance in a Swindon shirt.

The stopper arrived in July 2009 from Leeds and after firmly establishing himself as the club’s number one he is looking forward to a long future in Wiltshire.

“Forget another 50, here’s to another 200 please,” he joked.

“It’s nice to feel happy and at home at a club, and I do feel that way here. We just need to get back in the groove and start performing a bit more like last season.”