It’s been a whirlwind few years at Swindon Town, with managers coming and going and promotion and relegation keeping things exciting on and off of the pitch.
One man to have made it through much of this is goalkeeper Wes Foderingham, who has quickly become a fans’ favourite at the County Ground.
We caught up with Wes, who is in the running to be on the cover of the club’s unique version of EA SPORTS FIFA 14, recently to talk about life with the Robins, the impact of Paolo Di Canio and the arrival of Nile Ranger.
One win from your opening two games of the season, is the push for promotion a realistic one for this season?
Yes, I still think it’s realistic. I think it’s a bit early to start talking about how we’re going to do this season, the opening game against Peterborough was a difficult one in itself, but we didn’t disgrace ourselves, we went out and gave a good account of ourselves and only lost 1-0. We’ve won and lost since then, but the way we play we may make mistakes, but I’m sure we’ll bounce back.
Kevin MacDonald has recently left the club and Mark Cooper has come in as manager, what sort of impact do you think this will this have over the course of the season?
We’ve known for a while that ‘Coops’ could take over, and we’ve been working with him a little while, so it’s not like he’s just arrived and things are changing. I think the way we’re trying to play everyone enjoys it and it’s good to watch and be involved in. The more we keep working we’ll get used to it and get positive results on the field.
When MacDonald came in he replaced Paolo Di Canio, what was life at the club like under the Italian?
It was very disciplined. People say he’s a bit crazy at times and I wont say he’s not, because he is! The difference is when MacDonald came in it was a bit more relaxed, the boys didn’t feel under as much pressure.
You had a bit of a run in with Paolo, what was it like to work under him? Was he a difficult character?
He was difficult at times of course. Nobody likes getting told off, and if you weren’t doing the right things he’d shout at you. But, he knew what he was talking about, he knew his stuff and he really knows his football. When I first came he was a major factor, because he was such a big star in the game, when I came in I felt he was a great manager who has the ability to go higher.
Now he’s at Sunderland do you think he can bring success to his new club?
Yes, I think he’ll bring discipline, which is one thing I think football in general lacks. If he gets some quality on the pitch I’m sure he’ll get positive results.
You mentioned his discipline was a big factor, what else would you say are his strengths and weaknesses?
His strengths, I’d say attention to detail, what he did with us was fantastic. With negatives I’d say his man management, other people would probably say the same. When you go up against someone who’s so strong it’s difficult, the way he tries to manage may be difficult with Premier League players. I think he’s learnt to calm down a bit though.
Di Canio is known for being a character, what was the oddest thing he did whilst at Swindon?
He did a few! Some of them I cant really say. What he used to do if we didn’t play well is get us up early watching the clips on the TV. One time he showed us a demonstration of tackling, one of our centre-halves didn’t tackle properly in the game, and he (Paolo) started slide tackling chairs up and down the room on the carpet! He was literally getting burns, which was funny, but a bit odd at the same time.
You signed a new contract recently, is it good to be settled with Swindon? And are you enjoying your football at the moment?
Yes, it’s good to be settled. I’ve been here for a couple of years now so it was good to sort a new deal. I’m enjoying my football, we’ve had two fantastic years at the club and I’m hoping to build on that again.
You had a few loan moves earlier in your career, was that a difficult time? Or is moving to get regular action something that young players just have to do?
When you’re young you need to go and play games, there’s no point in sitting on the bench. For me as a goalkeeper there’s no better feeling than going out and playing games, even if that isn’t at a great standard. Goalkeeping is goalkeeping, if you’re a forward and you play in the conference it might be a bit different, but in terms of goalkeeping you’re there making decisions, coming to catch crosses and you’re saving shots. It’s really important for young players to do that and develop by doing that as early as possible.
We recently saw Rickie Lambert, a player who made his name in the various divisions of English football, make his England debut. Have you got aspirations of making it to the Premier League and maybe representing England at senior level?
Yes, definitely. Everyone wants to play at the highest level. Personally I have ambitions to play in the Premier League and to play for England, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. I’ll give it my best shot, if it does come that’s fantastic, if doesn’t then I’ll keep working hard and won’t stop until I have to retire.
Nile Ranger has recently joined Swindon, what sort of impact has he had? And how big of a part can he play in the team’s season?
He’s a different type of player to what we had before. He’s a physical presence, he’s good with the ball at his feet and he can score goals as well. He will be a positive on the pitch and give us another dimension.
Obviously he’s had his problems off the pitch, but do you think he can put those behind him now and become the player he has the potential to be?
He’s still a young lad, only 22, people get on his back too quickly. He’s done things wrong in the past, and he’ll hold his hands up because he knows he has. He’s willing to change, I’ve spoken to him and from what he’s said to me he wants to change his ways, try to fall back in love with football again and find that passion again.
What do you make of his tattoo?
I don’t know where he’s gone with that one! He might have tried to do a Mike Tyson with a tattoo on his face. That’s something I definitely won’t be doing!
Finally, the poll is open for Swindon’s FIFA cover, why should people give you their vote?
I think I’m the second longest serving player after Nathan Thompson and I’ve had two good seasons here with a promotion. I’d like to think that the fans would like to repay that by voting and getting me on the cover.
Wes Foderingham was speaking on behalf of Swindon Town FC and EA SPORTS FIFA 14, available to pre-order now from Game.co.uk. Vote for Wes to appear on the club’s very own version of EA SPORTS FIFA 14 at STFC’s Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/13QThIj