SWINDON Town striker Jacob Wakeling is hoping his outrageous finish against Salford City can help the 21-year-old return to the level of form he showed at the start of the season.

Wakeling acrobatically volleyed in Swindon’s equaliser during the 2-1 victory at the Peninsula Stadium on Saturday, setting up Jody Morris’ first win as head coach.

After scoring four and assisting three in his first 10 League Two outings, leading to a new three-and-a-half-year contract, the Alvechurch-born forward notched just one goal and two assists in his next 19 fourth-tier appearances.

Wakeling admitted the significant dip in form has been tough to take but is aiming to use his most-recent strike as a platform for another rich spell.

Asked if he meant his cheeky effort against Salford, Wakeling said: “I 100 per cent meant to do that.

“I have to get myself in the box because [Remeao Hutton] is going to cross it – that’s the sort of player he is.

“I saw the cross was a bit behind me, so I stuck my leg out to try and pull it goalwards, and luckily it went in for me.

“Hopefully that helps me kick on now and I can get back to my form at the start of the season.

“It’s been hard not scoring. As an attacker, I want to score, but I just try to give 110 per cent every game. If I’m not scoring, I’ve just got to work hard for the team.”

Following defeat to Sutton United last week, Town dropped to 11th – their lowest position since mid-October. Despite the weekend win, Swindon remained 11th and four points below the play-off spots.

Nevertheless, ever-optimistic Wakeling says he remains laser-focused on going up this season and hopes to score the goals which take Town into League One.

Wakeling said: “I know with the work rate I put in, I will get some luck sooner or later.

“Consistency is the key thing for me now. I need to go on a run, I need to score goals at the back end of the season. With us pushing for promotion, that’s what I need to do.

“I’ll be working hard in training on my finishing – I won’t be working on [Salford goal] any time soon – because that’s all I want to do, I want to score and I want to get promoted with this club.

“It deserves to get promoted. You saw the fan base today; it was absolutely amazing. They come in their numbers every week. But promotion is all I want.”