Swindon Town

NATHAN Thompson admits that it was frustrating being sidelined recently so soon after working hard to recover from the hamstring injury he picked up in the Play-Off Final at Wembley.

He told the official website that he had missed being a presence on the pitch particularly with the new arrivals making an immediate impact at Crewe last Saturday.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” he said. “To come back after a hamstring injury and work as hard as I did to then pick up a small, niggling injury like this is annoying but I’ve been working hard - ‘phys’ has been pushing me hard the past two weeks and hopefully I’ll be able to return at Barnsley.

“When you’ve got a new set of lads coming in, you want to be able to help them. Wes (Thomas) and Nicky (Ajose) have come in last weekend and shown their quality but it’s nice to be on the pitch and talk them through the things that we do differently. It’s extremely frustrating but it’s about getting back fit and hopefully not picking up any of these injuries again for the rest of the season.”

In the captain’s absence, Mark Cooper’s men have avoided defeat on their trips away from the County Ground despite the performances not quite being to the playing staff’s liking but Thompson says that recent results have been encouraging.

“We’ve done really well,” he said. “Speaking to the lads, I know they haven’t been massively impressed with the performances but we’re picking up results and, sometimes, that’s the most important thing. We can work on performances and we know that when all the lads are integrated and know their job roles, they’ll come so, it’s highly encouraging at this moment in time.”

Finally, the skipper declared that he expects another stern test at Oakwell tomorrow but anticipates a good game of football.

“They’ve got a strong squad there,” he continued. “With them bringing in ‘Smudge’ (Michael Smith) it shows their intent so it will be a good one but we seem to be doing well on the road at this moment in time. It’s a game that we’re looking forward to and we’ll be looking to carry on this momentum.

“It’s about starting fast and making sure we start the game the same way we finished at Crewe. It’s always good playing teams that set up and try to attack us - we usually fare well against them. It will probably be a bit more open than games against teams that come and sit in with ten men behind the ball but it will be a good game and one that we’re really looking forward to.”