BEN Gladwin received a standing ovation as he left the County Ground pitch following a man of the match performance against Preston North End on Saturday, not that he noticed.

Gladwin, who signed for Swindon Town from Marlow in November, won the penalty which eventually separated the teams and impressed with his passing range and close control against a physical and experienced Preston outfit.

The midfielder was substituted in the 89th minute and the home crowd rose to their feet in a show of appreciation for the 21-year-old’s efforts, but he missed it.

“I didn’t actually see it,” Gladwin revealed post-match.

“As I was walking off I was being congratulated by the boys on the bench and they said ‘turn round and have a look’ but I missed it.

“It was really good from the fans, I’m really pleased.”

Gladwin was a late call-up into the Town starting XI following injuries to Louis Thompson and Ryan Harley but he was delighted to prove to everyone associated with the club, as well as himself, that he has the ability to cut it at League One level.

“The gaffer had a little word with me (on Friday) but it was only when I came in the changing room that I knew I was going to play. I was just pleased to get some minutes under my belt,” he said.

“For me, now I know I can come to this level and the step up is not too big for me.

“In training I’ve been able to do it pretty much from when I joined but it was about transferring it onto the pitch.

“The gaffer had a word with me, which was good, and I think today I managed to do it.

“The legs started to go a little bit towards the end, I gave it away a few times and I knew that I just needed to be simple and make sure we got a result.

“It was fantastic. Most important was to get the result, I think in recent games some of the results have been unfair, so it was good to get a win and obviously nice for myself to put in a good performance.”