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JP
A contract extension for you, how delighted are you with that?
GA
Pleased, very pleased with that, it is the club's way of saying keep it going and keep what we have achieved so far and keep it moving forward. I am pleased because it is a job that we think is part-way done, it is not fully completed. It is a job we keep saying is a work in progress, there is still a lot of room to improve, there is still a lot of hard work to be done. We won't be satisfied until we have improved it a lot further.
We know there is a lot of hard work to be done but we think are on the right lines and we are hoping we are making progress. The Wembley situation last week was a reward for a part of the work that we are doing, and now we have to improve on our league position and push that as far as up the table as we can this season, and then build on that again.
JP
You heard one fan there who texted in saying that he was delighted that you had got the new contract but why only a year? Is that the right contract for you and the club at this stage?
GA
I wouldn't want to talk too much about the why's and wherefore's of it all. But the board have been honest with me and they talked about the length of the contract, they talked about why it was going to be a one year and what they wanted from me, and what they expected would happen after that year.
I am fully comfortable with what was said, and agreed in principle with everything that was delivered to me. But it is a conversation I would like to keep private between the board and myself, but it is one that I have absolutely no problem with. I am hungry, I am motivated and I want to keep the thing going forward.
If we keep the thing going forward then that one year will turn into two years or three years and we can keep the thing moving in the right direction. Everybody knows in football what the situation is should you fail to deliver the goods, and I want that pressure on me because that is what football is all about.
JP
Onto more pressing, and more immediate matters of course, another high flyer in League One for you to go to and try to get something out of tomorrow. How excited are you and how well prepared are the club after your mid-stop training today?
GA
We are fine, we always prepare properly, we always do the right things. The players stopped again at Cheltenham, who were fantastic to us to allow us to use their facility. They were sharp, they were bright, we have got a lot of games, we have got a lot of high profile pressure games that we have played just at the moment.
But what we are trying to do is keep them fresh, keep the energy within the team and the belief within the group. We are expecting for us to be better than we were on Tuesday night, I want an improvement on that because we need it if we are going to set standards.
I thought Huddersfield were a very good side, we didn't ask them enough questions, we can't produce performances like that MK Dons one and then accept what we did against Huddersfield.
The players are under no uncertain terms of what I demand, and what Dennis (Booth) demands of them. If we get beaten by a side that has had to draw blood to win the game then that it is fine. But we felt that Huddersfield won the game a tad too comfortable for our liking.
JP
Have you seen that reaction from them, not just today in training in Cheltenham, but through the week that they are determined to almost make sure their game is back up to the MK Dons, the Leeds performance, even the Huddersfield away performance?
GA
I think it is about the standards we are setting and the progress we are making that we are a more expectant group now. The players are just as determined as I am, we think they are very honest, we think they listen and understand what the job is required of them and they know when they have slightly dropped below their standards.
I think we are better than we showed on Tuesday night, the gap between us and Huddersfield isn't that good, as we proved at the Galpharm a couple of weeks earlier. So we need to make sure we ask Swindon a lot of questions tomorrow, we have a really good, determined performance.
If they are going to get something out of the game they are going to have to really play very, very well and work us exceptionally hard. Like the likes of Colchester and the rest of the teams that have beaten us in recent times have had to do.
JP
Purely statistically speaking going into this game, you are actually, I was quite surprised by this, only one victory in six. Do you think that fails to show the level of performance that you have got in general? Do you think there is plenty of evidence that your fans can be absolutely confident despite that statistic as it were?
GA
It is a statistic, you can turn statistics to suit whichever you want. We are positive in our statistics and if you look at the last 15 games we would probably be up there in the top four or five in the division (ed - joint 10th). So you can put whatever slant you want on it and I am saying to everybody here that we would be in the top six, and that is a better statistic that looking at the one in the last six.
But listen, we want to win games and we wouldn't be happy with that one in six, we want to be doing better than that and we want to make sure that we keep improving. But we have reached mid-table at the moment, we want to consolidate that and build on and improve that. If we want to do that then we have to get some more results and that is the aim.
JP
From your previous experience, what sort of game do you expect at the County Ground tomorrow?
GA
Well we have never probably played Swindon when they are on such a good run of form. They have always been a side that has been around and about where we are. They have probably underachieved a little bit, again on the quiet they have got quite a bit of backing. Danny (Wilson) has assembled a really good side, he is a really good guy and a good manager.
I think they have got good players in key positions now, they do score goals, they have got a good defensive base to their game and it will be very, very tough tomorrow. They are on that momentum roll, I think they are unbeaten in about 11 games so we are going to hit a team bang in the middle of top form. But we have done that before, we have managed to cope with it.
JP
And on the squad situation, how is everyone shaping up ahead of it?
GA
They are looking alright, they are all keen to play. We have got an 18 man squad here, everybody desperate to play, all really trying to stick together and stick with it. Some are disappointed that they have not been making the team and some are delighted they are in the team. But we feel that we have got a group that are all chomping at the bit to play and that is always going to be good for us.
JP
With five goals in his last four games, I am sure you can see why the fans are talking about Joe Anyinsah being involved, has he got a chance and can you appreciate why the fans are talking about him at the moment given his scoring run of form?
GA
Five goals in four games, I would think he must have a chance? Listen, I have been the one that has been a big Joe fan the way he is and the way he is improving. He is going to be hopefully a big player for this football club. Of course he has got a chance, he has come off the bench in the last couple and scored. Up until then before his injury he was looking really bright, sharp, strong sort of player. I would think he is line yeah.