Keepers must be strong in the face of abuse - Wes (From This Is Swindon Town FC)

SWINDON TOWN: Keepers must be strong in the face of abuse - Wes

6:00am Tuesday 12th February 2013 in Headlines By Andy Warren

Wes Foderingham in action

TOWN keeper Wes Foderingham has insisted goalkeepers need to be mentally strong to put up with the abuse they can receive from opposition fans.

After Hartlepool keeper Scott Flinders was booked for wasting time during the closing minutes of the visitors’ 1-1 draw at the County Ground on Saturday, the stopper appeared to be pelted with objects thrown from the Town End having wound up the home fans with his antics.

Foderingham didn’t see the objects thrown at Flinders, but admitted he has been on the receiving end of similar incidents during his short career as a professional which have tested him mentally.

“Sometimes fans get excited or frustrated depending on the results, but if they throw things on the pitch I don’t think they are intending to hurt him,” he said.

“I have not had anything like that this season, although there were a couple last year at the obvious places like Oxford and Bristol Rovers.

“You get a lot of fans behind the goals, especially if you are playing away, and it comes if you do a bad kick or drop a cross or something like that.

“If you are not mentality strong it can have an effect on your performance, but thankfully I am good at putting it out of my mind.”

Manager Paolo Di Canio gave the Town squad two rare days off after Saturday’s game, but Foderingham is already focused on righting the wrongs of the 1-1 draw with Hartlepool.

“We will have a few days off to have a rest, and then we will be back in training and maybe do something fitness based for a couple of days,” he said.

“Then after that we will start to look towards Tranmere and preparing for that game tactically and working on attacking play to put the ball in the back of the net.

“We didn’t underestimate Hartlepool, but they are a team at the bottom of the league who we should be beating.

“The only good thing to come out of it was that Tranmere and Doncaster lost, and we haven’t lost any ground. But if we want to win the league or even finish in the top six we need to win matches like that.”

Foderingham also revealed manager Di Canio has not given the playing squad any indication regarding his future, which the Italian has said still remains in doubt.

“He has just said to us he is going to be here doing his job, and if he is not we will be told. Until that day he is going to do his job and be 100 per cent committed to us,” Foderingham said.