Pitman surprised by results at Swindon Town

BRETT PITMAN admits he has been surprised by results at Swindon Town this season but insists the players can still put things right as John Sheridan’s Robins look to avoid League One relegation this season. Total Sport Swindon’s Ryan Walker spoke to the STFC striker ahead of their upcoming home fixture against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.

Brought in by Richie Wellens at the start of the season to lead Swindon’s attack, Brett Pitman is one of many of Swindon’s players to not reach the levels expected from them this season, scoring just four league goals and one FA Cup goal in 25 appearances. 

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s League One encounter against mid-table Crewe, Pitman admitted he was surprised to see Swindon in the relegation zone, revealing that a successful season will now be keeping Town in the league.

“I am surprised by our results this season and when I signed at the start of the season I thought we would have a really successful season,” said Pitman.

“Obviously now success is going to look different to what I thought it would do at the start of the season.

“Success now is staying up and I won’t put it any other way, that is success for us now,” he said.

“I think a lot of variables and there are a lot of reasons [behind our results], but ultimately we haven’t been good enough on the pitch.

“We’ve got to hold our hands up but luckily we have a number of games to put things right,” added Pitman.

Despite not finding the back of the net as frequently as he would’ve liked to this season, Swindon are yet to lose a league game that the 33-year-old has scored in. Bagging the winning goal in Swindon’s one-nil victory over Wigan at the start of the month, Pitman expressed his frustration at the lack of chances he has had in front of goal.

"Any forward would say that they want more chances and I would love to be given five or six chances every game,” said Pitman.

“Hopefully we can do that going forward and get enough points to stay up.

“It does get frustrating at times but we are working on it.

“I’m always looking to score and that’s my job,” he added.

“Hopefully there will be more chances in front of goal and I think my record throughout my career speaks for itself if I’m honest.

“If we create chances then I’ll score goals,” said Pitman.

The experienced striker has found himself in and out of the starting XI under current Swindon manager John Sheridan. But despite this, Pitman reveals he has a great relationship with the manager and insists he enjoys working with him.

“I have a very good relationship with John Sheridan and we get on well,” he said.

“I haven’t got a bad thing to say about him and he gets on well with everyone in the squad especially the senior lads.

"He talks to us a lot because of our experience and we can feed that down to others.

“I’ve enjoyed working with him and I think he’s a good bloke,” finished Pitman.