SWINDON Town head coach Ben Garner believes it is vital that his team maintains its positive momentum over the next four games as the club looks to cement an automatic promotion place.

Town have completed one week of a three-week stretch where Garner’s men will play on both Saturday and Tuesday in the build-up to a notoriously-hectic Christmas schedule.

Swindon beat Newport County 2-1 on the road last Saturday – thanks to a late Jack Payne goal – before seeing off Hartlepool United at the County Ground on Tuesday night – two games that did not always show off vintage ‘Garner-ball’ but was enough to get the job done.

And with another County Ground fixture on Saturday – this time, against Harrogate Town – Swindon will have the chance to both continue their five-game winning streak as well as improving what was, until recently, the worst home record in League Two.

Highlighting the importance of winning even if Town do not play well, Garner believes positive momentum can help carry any team through rough patches at times.

He said: “Everyone wants momentum with them, everyone wants to be winning games. We’d like to play well in every game, but that’s not always going to be the case.

“But sometimes you’ve got to find a way to win and to have that resilience and that robustness in the team as well, which I think we’ve got. The more momentum you can generate, and the more points you can get on the board, it helps you to keep that going.”

In his bid to maintain Town’s positive momentum, Garner says his current coaching set-up will play a huge part in that.

The Town boss was asked whether he’s ever considered sitting in the stands to gain an alternative view on the game, but stated he relies on two excellent analysts for a bird’s eye view as he wants to feel like he is with the team pitch-side.

Garner said: “Undoubtedly, the view from above is better as you get to see the whole pitch.

“It’s probably less emotional (in the stands), but you don’t get the feel of the game and you can’t influence it as easily from up there.

“I prefer being on the side-lines, I like to feel like I’m with the team. I can see fine from there, and we’ve got two analysts at the back of the stand who are miked up to [Steve Mildenhall].

“So if there’s anything we want to check or we want to ask, we’ve got their eyes in the stand with an aerial view – we’re happy with how that works.”