ALAN McCormack is determined to put behind him a disappointing season at Charlton by recapturing his best form and helping Swindon rise through the leagues.

The 27-year-old yesterday signed a two-year deal with the Robins, opting to drop down a league after being charmed by Paolo Di Canio when the two first met last Wednesday.

McCormack has spent the vast majority of his career in either the Championship or League One and certainly bring with him a wealth of experience of being a part of sides that are challenging at the top end of the table.

The Irishman was with Preston when they reached the Championship play-off final in 2005 and then formed a formidable partnership with Nicky Bailey as Southend narrowly missed out on promotion from League One a couple of seasons ago.

McCormack no doubt anticipated playing a role in another promotion battle when he was signed by Phil Parkinson at Charlton last summer, but the season did not pan out as planned for both the player and the club.

Parkinson was sacked in January and was replaced by Addicks legend Chris Powell, and though McCormack was initially in the former defender's plans, he eventually fell out of favour.

“Charlton was a difficult one,” McCormack told the Advertiser. “I was disappointed with myself more than anything because I did not perform to the standards I set myself.

“I lost a bit of confidence when I felt I was not meeting my standards and I seemed to drop off the pace and was not involved so much.

“Phil (Parkinson) was the type of manager who knew the players best and knew when to play them and when not to play them. Then Chris (Powell) came in and I initially played quite a lot under him, but again had a dip in form and eventually found myself out of the team.

“But I don't have anyone else to blame but myself and I am not going to point the finger at any managers or anyone else.

“It is now up to me to get into the Swindon team and I know that to convince Paolo (Di Canio) that I deserve my place then I have to my best.”

When it became known that McCormack was available this summer, clubs in both League One and Two expressed an interest.

But the opportunity to work with a former Premier League legend intrigued McCormack, and after listening to Di Canio's plans for Swindon, he is convinced that he has joined a club on the up.

“My options were quite open and obviously League One would have been an absolute dream if Swindon were in there, but as it is we are in League Two,” he continued.

“You start at the bottom sometimes but we will do our best to work our way up and you never know, with the right investment and the right players, in four or five years we could be challenging with the big boys.

“Blackpool have done it, Swansea have done it and I can remember playing against them when they were down low. It can happen to anyone so hopefully we can do it as well.”