Goal hero Collins shares glory (From Swindon Advertiser)

Goal hero Collins shares glory

6:00am Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in STFC News By Sam Morshead

DESPITE netting four goals in 22 crazy second-half minutes, James Collins was quick to praise the work of his teammates in Swindon Town’s 5-0 victory over Portsmouth yesterday.

Collins came off the bench on the hour and proceeded to conduct a one-man demolition job on Pompey, grabbing his second hat-trick of the campaign and his first ever in the league.

Given the circumstances, it would have been understandable had the striker chosen to wallow in his own personal success, but instead Collins chose to thank the men around him who made his achievements possible.

“I’m over the moon to contribute in the way I did today but I thought the hard work was done before I got on,” he said.

“I thought the lads wore them down and when I got on I was able, with the chances I had, to get my goals.

“I haven’t been in the team for the past few weeks and I thought if I could just get on and get one goal and help the team win then hopefully that would get me a chance to play a few games, but to get four goals – I couldn’t ask for anything better.

“Scoring my first league hat-trick is a great thing for me and I was really happy.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play with some good players in this side and they’ve managed to get the ball in the right areas for me. I’m happy that I was able to get on the scoresheet.”

Collins has found himself out of favour in recent weeks, following the loan arrival of Chris Martin from Norwich, and has spent more time sat on the bench than out on the field of play.

However, he has continued to back his own ability and he reaped massive rewards yesterday.

He said: “Andy(Williams) has done very well and he got two against Tranmere and Chrissy’s come in and done very well. He’s a good player, he looks fit and sharp and he’s obviously got great quality. He’s effectively a Premiership player.

“I’ve had to wait for my chance but I’m always confident, if I can play, I’ll get the goals. I’m happy to get the goals today and hopefully prove my point.”