After consecutive defeats against promotion rivals Bournemouth and Luton, Swindon revived their play-off hopes after coming from behind to beat Wrexham at the County Ground last weekend. The Robins found themselves 2-0 down after just 21 minutes, but a hat-trick from top scorer Sam Parkin helped Andy King's men to a 4-2 victory against the Dragons. Parkin's treble took his seasonal tally to 22, becoming only the third player in Swindon's long history to score 20 league goals in three successive seasons. Givemefootball's Mark Shail caught up with the 24-year-old ahead of Friday's league fixture against MK Dons.
Q:JUST HOW IMPORTANT WAS THAT WIN FOR YOU ON SATURDAY?
A:Very important, we got there in the end, but it was a bad start and we gave ourselves a mountain to climb. Wrexham played very well in the first half, but we managed to score just before the break and that gave us the momentum to go on and win the game.
Q:THAT TAKES TOUR TALLY TO 22, YOU MUST BE DELIGHTED WITH THAT?
A:I am, and to become only the third Swindon player to break the 20-goal barrier in three successive seasons makes me very proud. I had been stuck on 19 league goals for a number of weeks, so it was good to get that elusive 20th goal.
Q:WAS THAT YOUR FIRST HAT-TRICK FOR SWINDON?
A:No, it was actually my third, so it was nice to go home with the match ball as a little bit of a memento. But the most important thing was that we got the three points.
Q:ARE THE PLAY-OFFS STILL A REALISTIC TARGET?
A:They are, but we have made it very difficult for ourselves. Until it is mathematically impossible for us to get into the top six we will continue to give it our best shot – there are still a lot of points to play for.
Q:ARE YOU ENJOYING WORKING WITH MICK HARFORD FOLLOWING HIS RECENT ARRIVAL AS FIRST TEAM COACH?
A:He has had a big effect on the players already and it's always good to get advice from someone who has been there and done it. He has given us some new ideas and some different training drills and it seems to have freshened the lads up. He is now taking the majority of the training sessions and our attitude and tempo has certainly gone up a gear.
Q:ARE YOU EXPECTING A TOUGH GAME ON FRIDAY AGAINST MK DONS?
A:I'm sure it will be difficult because, like Wrexham, they are also fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table. A number of the clubs close to us in the table have not got a match this weekend so it's vital that we make the most of this game in hand.
Q:YOU HAVE BEEN LINKED WITH A NUMBER OF CLUBS IN RECENT SEASONS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY AT A HIGHER LEVEL?
A:I'm enjoying my time here at the County Ground but this time next year I would like to be testing myself in the Championship – hopefully I can do that with Swindon. We've got nine games to go and I’m not looking beyond those matches – the main focus is to try and get the club into the top six.
