TOWN FLIER: Who's the best side in League 2, Mr Sturrock? (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Swindon cap great January by leaving Shrimpers whimpering

10:39am Wednesday 1st February 2012 in Sport By Town Flier

PAUL STURROCK insisted earlier this week that Swindon Town were not the best team in League 2.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and when he made that comment, we had only pummelled his side at the County Ground and knocked them out of the JPT Trophy on their home turf, ending a 17-game unbeaten run in the process.

After inflicting a third straight defeat this season on his title chasing side – 4-1 at Roots Hall on Tuesday night – I wonder if he wants to revise that opinion.

It was an extraordinary performance, with man-of-the match displays all over the pitch. Swindon went for the jugular right from the off and the Shrimpers went down with a whimper. A ballplayer like Swindon old boy Michael Timlin was reduced to X-rated tackles in frustration. One injustice was that Paul Benson could not seal his superb display with a goal.

As Paolo Di Canio intimated after the game, 6-1 may have been a fairer reflection of our superiority.

It took Swindon to second in the table with a home game (against Burton) to come on Saturday. And on Tuesday, we have the prospect of earning a Wembley visit as Chesterfield await the winners of our home match with Barnet in the JPT Area Final second leg.

Of course, we have won precisely nothing yet, nor are we promoted – but the signals are all positive.

What’s more the January transfer window came and went with a raft of good business.

We have kept all the Crown Jewels – although one of them (Aden Flint) does have a recurring groin injury which is keeping him out of the side at the moment.

And we have permanently signed Benson, Wes Foderingham, Luke Rooney and Lee Cox, with loan deals secured for Ronan Murray and Daniel Boateng. We could even argue that the reinvigorated Billy Bodin, who had a very effective cameo when coming off the bench at Southend following his Torquay loan spell, is like having a new signing.

Even the much-maligned Oliver Risser looked more like a valuable asset on Tuesday night.

The only downside is that we have not been able to offload the likes of Kerrouche, Lanzano and Esajas (none of whom are close to featuring) from what must be a groaning wage bill.

Chairman Jeremy Wray seemed to indicate at the weekend that a reconciliation between Di Canio and Kerrouche was in the air – although no one seemed to tell the manager. Playing a rejuvenated Leicester at their place in the FA Cup last Saturday was always going to be a tougher assignment than dumping Wigan out in the previous round.

They managed to get a springboard at the start of each half with a Jermaine Beckford goal but, far from capitulating, we played some decent stuff and gave as good as we got for large portions of the game.

Yet again it was not the performance of a League 2 side.

The two new strikers that Di Canio has been stalking did not materialise, but do we really need anyone else?

Paul Benson has not looked like a goal machine (yet) but he has already made an enormous difference with his all round contribution.

The inadequacies of the various powder puff combinations we have played up front this season were glossed over by the exceptional qualities we have elsewhere in the team.

But with Benson leading the line and Rooney doing a fair impression of Matt Ritchie on the left flank, we now have a potent attacking threat.

Just ask Paul Sturrock.