STEVEN Benda believes the level of support Swindon Town receives would not be out of place if the club was ever to make it back to the Premier League.

The German, who is on loan from Swansea City, highlighted the vociferous support that regularly follow Town away from home as well as the ever-increasing numbers that are turning up to the County Ground.

In particular, Benda paid tribute to the incredible noise that the 11,000 home fans made during last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Exeter City.

And with the longest away trip on Town’s season ahead, the 21-year-old said he would not be surprised to see another sizable backing make the long trip north to Cumbria.

Benda said: “The atmosphere last Saturday (against Exeter) was unbelievable with everyone turning up.

“As soon as you walk out onto the pitch and you see a big crowd like that who are all really excited, it makes you feel so much better about yourself.

“I hope that we get many more crowds like that towards the end of the season because I think our fans are definitely Championship level or even Premier League level here.

“Their energy definitely transmits onto the pitch – if you have that feeling around you all the time where everyone is excited, you want to play even better and you want to win for the fans.”

Many of those fans were particularly thankful that the young stopper was not recalled by parent club Swansea during the January transfer window due to a string of fine performances since taking over the number one shirt from Luke McCormick back in October.

Benda’s regular and confident displays have also drawn eyes from coaches in his homeland.

And although the 21-year-old acknowledged he is some way from displacing the likes of Manuel Neuer and Marc-André ter Stegen in the senior side, Benda believes his chance at under-23 level might not be too far away.

He said: “My agent has spoken to people in the Germany set up, and they basically said I need to get more regular game time if I want to be involved.

“This season, I’ve had constant game time.

“I want to keep playing of course, keep improving and then I believe I will get my chance in the Under 23 team soon.

“It’s all about game time – it doesn’t matter at what level you get it.

“But there is a lot of tough competition obviously, and Germany is known for having good goalkeepers at all levels.

“There are so many top ‘keepers that play in the Bundesliga, especially in the senior team.”