SWINDON TOWN midfielder Martin Smith says he can’t wait to put things right in this afternoon’s League Two fixture against Port Vale.

Town were humiliated 4-0 in Richie Wellens’ first game in charge at home to Carlisle, thanks to goals from Jamie Devitt, Ashley Nadesan and a brace from Regan Slater.

The 23-year-old insisted that his teammates were all hurting after last weekend’s defeat and the Port Vale fixture couldn’t come soon enough for the Wiltshire outfit.

“After every defeat, the one thing you want next is to get out on the pitch and make it right.

“Saturday was really tough, and the main thing for us is that we are chomping at the bit to put it right and get three points as quick as we can.

“It was a disappointing day, everyone knows that, but everyone wants to get back on the pitch and put it right,” he said.

The ex-Sunderland man is aware that his form is under constant scrutiny from new manager Wellens and knows that any lapse in concentration could see him watching from the side line.

“There is competition for places and everyone is training hard and trying to prove to the manager that they deserve to be playing on Saturday.

“Everyone is doing their job and giving 100 per cent every day to prove that they should be in the team.

“Everyone knows the strength in depth we have got in midfield, but I have said all along that it’s good to have competition for places.

“You can never rest on your performance or get complacent, you have to be performing every week – if you don’t, you won’t play the next week.

“There is a good opportunity at the moment and the main thing for me personally is staking a claim and putting my stamp on that position to be in the team,” he said.

Port Vale have scored 76% of their goals at home this season but Smith believes there are plenty of areas Town can exploit at the other end of the pitch.

“We have done a bit of work on them – the pitch is big so we can get at them.

“It will be a tough game, like it is every week, but the main thing for us is that we go and attack them in a positive manner.

“We will go and play with freedom, which the manager has expressed that he wants us to do, and we go there and make sure we get the three points.

“We have watched videos on them, so we know where we can get at them and where we can hurt them. It is about putting that into practice on Saturday,” said Smith.