Collins ready for the Shrews boos (From Swindon Advertiser)

SWINDON TOWN: Collins ready for the Shrews boos

6:00am Friday 28th September 2012 in STFC News By Sam Morshead

JAMES Collins is expecting a rough reception from the Shrewsbury fans when he returns to his former club with Swindon Town this weekend.

Collins swapped Shropshire for Paolo Di Canio’s revolution in Wiltshire over the summer, a decision that grated with many Shrews supporters.

The 21-year-old striker was the subject of intense criticism for opting to make the move to the Robins, and he revealed he is unlikely to be greeted welcomingly by the men, women and children who used to adore him when he turns up for League One duty in a red shirt on Saturday.

“I don’t think I’ll get the best of receptions there for whatever reasons, but it’s part and parcel of football,” he said.

“If I get the nod and the chance to play then hopefully I can go there and score a goal and help my new team win.

“When I left, the fans on Twitter and in the papers seemed to think I left for the wrong reasons. That’s fair enough, that’s football and I understand that so hopefully I can prove them wrong on Saturday.

“It’s disappointing but I think you’ve got to expect it when you go to former clubs. Fans are going to be fans, they make football great and what it is so I can understand why they think it, but I’m not bothered.

“It can always spur you on to go and prove a point and it can bring out the best in you so hopefully it can do that on Saturday.”

Collins thinks that he will be treated in a similar way to how Charlie Austin was when the ex-Swindon frontman returned to the County Ground with Burnley on Tuesday night. However, he is more concerned with sending his current club’s fans home happy.

“It will probably be similar to that but, with Charlie, I know we got the deserved win but he scored a goal which may have kept the fans a bit quiet.

“It’s going to be weird but I enjoyed my time there and we got promoted which is what the club wanted to do and I helped them by scoring a few goals as well, so realistically I would have thought they wouldn’t give me any stick but I knew you’ve got to expect it.”