Time to focus on the league (From Swindon Advertiser)

Time to focus on the league

6:00am Thursday 9th February 2012 in Sport By Andrew Warren

MATT Ritchie is convinced he and his Swindon Town team mates will not be distracted by the prospect of playing at Wembley and will continue to concentrate on winning promotion from League Two.

The midfielder was named man of the match in Town’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy area final second leg clash with Barnet on Tuesday night, as his side booked their visit to the national stadium at the end of March.

Before then though, Town face a run of tough games which could make or break their chances of automatic promotion, and Ritchie has no doubt they will continue to focus on League Two.

“I don’t think Wembley will be a distraction at all, but I think it will be a massive boost because we have something massive to look forward to at the end of March,” he told the Advertiser.

“A lot of people will think this means we will take an eye off the league but there is no chance of that at all.

“The league is our main priority and we will be putting every effort in to getting promoted this season.

“We want to win the cup now as well, and that would be a massive achievement for us and the fans, but the number one is the league and I think everyone knows that deep down.”

Town’s first task in League Two will be to overcome Barnet once again when they visit Underhill on Saturday, and Ritchie is expecting a much more open contest.

“I think it will be very different, and I think it will be a little bit more open.

“The cup game was quite tight and it was hard to create chances because both teams were a little nervy at the start.

But this one will be different, we will be confident because we have beaten them to get to Wembley, but they will want a bit of revenge, so I think it will be a good game but we need to be at our best.

“We will go there looking to get three points and I am sure we will do a good job.”

Ritchie travelled to Wembley with the Portsmouth squad for their FA Cup final clash with Chelsea in 2010 but was not involved in the match day squad, but while all minds are focused on a fourth clash of the season with Lawrie Sanchez’ men, Ritchie is looking forward to a Wembley return.

“I travelled with the Portsmouth team for the FA Cup final but I was not involved, so for me it will be a day to remember and I can’t wait to be involved properly this time,” he said.

“It really will be a great day for the club and the fans, and for a lot of the players it will be the first time we have played at Wembley, which will be a great experience.”