Swindon must keep up this form, says boss Wilson
Swindon Town boss Danny Wilson believes his side are on the verge of pulling away from relegation trouble after coming within four minutes of securing a shock victory at table-topping Leicester City on Saturday.
Town were only denied the chance to end the Foxes' impressive 18-game unbeaten run when midfielder Andy King scored an 86th-minute equaliser to cancel out a first-half opener from striker Simon Cox.
The point still saw Town slip to just one place above the bottom four, but Wilson insisted that it is only a matter of time before his players start picking up the positive results that their recent performances have warranted.
He said: "The attitude and application from the boys were spot on and you have to say that it was an absolutely fantastic performance.
"The only disappointment is that we couldn't quite manage to nick all the points, and it was unfortunate that we made one mistake near the end to let Leicester in to score.
"I think the boys are starting to gel and there is calmness about our play now. We have some good players at the club and all they needed was a bit of confidence to produce performances like that.
"Displays like this one will see that confidence among the players grow, and that can only help us move away from the wrong end of the table."
Wilson has presided over three games unbeaten and is hoping to extend that run when his side return to action at Millwall tomorrow night.
Wilson added: "The players have set a benchmark with that performance. We have to build on it, and anything less in our next few games will be a disappointment. We have to start showing some consistency, because if we go away and get battered in our next game, the Leicester game will count for nothing. I am not worried about relegation but it (league position) is something that we have to address."
Defender Jack Smith was taken to hospital as a precaution with suspected concussion, but is expected to be fit to feature at the New Den. Meanwhile, Wilson has not ruled out the possibility of adding a loan player to his squad before they take on Kenny Jackett's side.
Western Daily Press
Pearson praises City's young guns
Manager Nigel Pearson hailed young guns Andy King and Carl Pentney for their key roles in keeping Leicester City's promotion drive on track.
Substitute goalkeeper Pentney, in his first senior action, made several fine saves in the 1-1 draw against Swindon on Saturday before King grabbed a late equaliser.
Pearson will have no qualms about putting 19-year-old Pentney in goal again at Hartlepool tomorrow if David Martin does not recover in time from a rib injury.
Pearson said of the Academy graduate: "He did fine. He made a few very good saves and showed that one person's misfortune is someone else's opportunity."
Martin's injury, which was sustained in training, is the latest misfortune to befall City's goalkeepers.
Pearson said: "Paul Henderson has had an operation (on a groin injury) and will be out for a few weeks.
"Alex Cisak's wrist is in plaster but, over the season, you have to deal with injuries."
Pearson added about King: "Andy has scored some good goals for us this season. He keeps getting there and he will need to keep doing it.
"He is a strong character, He's an ever-present this season, 20 years of age with 11 goals. Well done. But, with 15 games to go, he has to keep on doing it."
Peterborough and Scunthorpe both suffered home defeats so the draw stretched City's advantage over third place to 16 points. Pearson admitted that City moving further away from third place caused him a wry smile to lessen the obvious disappointment of not cashing in more with a home win. He said: "I am not one to concentrate on results elsewhere but it seems it was a day when it turned out to be not too bad a point.
"We have had three draws at home in a row and we have deserved better than that.
The two 0-0s (against Brighton and Oldham) were frustrating in that it was good to keep clean sheets but we did not look likely to score as often as we have done this season. But, over a 46-game campaign, you can't have it all your own way.
"You do get ebbs and flows. Full credit to Swindon. They came with a very positive game-plan, scored on the counter-attack and then made it very difficult for us.
"It was not one of our best performances. We had chances to win the game but it was not up to our usual standard although the unbeaten run continued."
Leicester Mercury
