FOLLOWING on from his Italian tour diary, striker Paul Benson assesses tonight's match against Crystal Palace as he continues his blog from the heart of the STFC camp. Here is his latest entry...
Pre-season has been decent for us so far but everyone is looking forward to the Crystal Palace game. Tonight’s match is another game we want to win for us, not just a fitness exercise.
We have played against lower league sides over the last few weeks and we were expected to win those games and tonight will be no different. We want to go out there and win the game and do ourselves justice. Crystal Palace caught the eye last season with their cup run and I remember seeing them a few times.
I thought they looked a very good side with Wilfried Zaha the standout performer. They have other quality players in their side though and it’s not just him we’re going to have to keep an eye on. We need to be respectful of their talent but at the same time we need to impose ourselves on the game and do what we have to do.
The gaffer changed things around slightly on Tuesday and we trained at The County Ground. It’s always nice to train on the pitch and it was nice for the new lads to get a feel for the place too. The pitch is looking great and on the back of such good home form last season, it’s important we take that through to the 2012/13 campaign.
Off the pitch life has been good. My family and I are really settled in Swindon and it’s been great to get to know the new lads and their respective families over the summer too. Hopefully being so settled will transpire on to the pitch and I can improve on my performances from last season.