SWINDON skipper Mike Thompson admits his troops are well in need of a summer break despite their stunning end-of-season form.

Sean Lynn’s men were in the midst of a relegation scrap in South West One East back in mid-January after picking up just four victories in their opening 17 league games.

However, ahead of Saturday’s final game of the season away at Grove, Swindon have put any fears of the drop to bed with a superb sequence of results, claiming six victories and a draw in their last eight games to climb up to a comfortable eighth in the table, four points clear of the bottom three.

That has come at a cost, though, and there are plenty of battered and bruised bodies in the camp at Greenbridge Road, and none worse off than Thompson, who will sit out the final game after undergoing surgery on an injured bicep last week.

Although his side are finally showing just what they are capable of, Thompson has no qualms about signing off on a mixed 2016-17 campaign.

“We are playing well but it is probably one of those things where we could do with the season coming to an end, to be honest,” said Thompson.

“We have had a tough year, new guys have come on board and we’ve had lots of injuries. We are safe now so it’s time for the lads to have a bit of a breather over the summer and come back stronger and better next time. We have done what we need to.

“We’ve been in good form and it just brings home the quality that I know we have had since the beginning of the year.

“With the players we have got, everyone is a skilful individual but as a team, we are doing really well now. The recent results just echo that.

“I said from the beginning, we are too strong to go down, and what we have done since Christmas proves what we can do when we are on form.”

Swindon return to action against Grove after enjoying the Easter weekend off, with their last game being the 35-29 home victory over county rivals Chippenham back on April 8.

Thompson hopes the rest has done his side good and is keen to see his side finish the season with a strong performance, safe in the knowledge that they are free from the threat of relegation.

“For the lads, a week off probably isn’t a bad thing,” said Thompson.

“It was a physical game against Chippenham so the lads have had time to rest up, take it easy and come back against Grove firing.

“Hopefully we can get another good result and finish on a bit of a high. It’s been a bit tense here in recent months, everyone has been worried about relegation, so it will be nice to go out on the pitch and just relax.”