PAUL Benson could not be happier with how his Swindon career has gone to date, but was keen to highlight the input of his teammates for helping him achieve his impressive goal return.

The 32-year-old has scored seven goals in his previous nine outings for Town - including the winner against Cheltenham on Saturday – and has bagged 10 in total this season.

Benson has always been a clinical finisher at this level, with the striker’s predatory skills meaning he always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

Town boss Paolo Di Canio has regularly lavished praise on the former Dagenham & Redbridge frontman, and recently described him as the best forward at this level.

But Benson believes the quality of the crosses being provided by his teammates has made his job considerably easier.

“I am very pleased with my goal return at the moment, there are still areas of my game I want to improve and I will keep working on that,” he said.

“The fact I am getting in the right areas more often than not is something that I am very pleased with, so overall it is going well and I couldn’t ask for much more.

“But my good form is down to my teammates at the end of the day, I can’t score if the ball is not being put into the right areas.

“The quality of the crosses from both sides of the team have been outstanding and with the way I play you can’t help but get on the end of them and score goals.

“I am not the sort of player to pick a ball up from 30 yards, run at the defence and smash the ball into the top corner that is not my game. I like to get in the box and get on the end of crosses.

“There are players all over the pitch who have been putting good crosses in and that makes my job so much easier.”

The players have the rare luxury of no midweek game tonight, and the timing couldn’t be better for Benson, whose wife is expecting to give birth to their second child anytime soon.

“There has been no news yet,” he added. “It is still a waiting game and hopefully I’ll have more to report if we speak after the game at Crewe.

“It is going to be a big week for me on a family level. Hopefully the little one will come sooner rather than later.”

Fellow striker Mehdi Kerrouche has returned to Swindon after his loan spell at Oxford came to an end at the weekend.

The Algerian scored eight goals for Town in the first half of the season before falling out of favour with Di Canio.

Kerrouche joined Oxford on February 9 and made one start and three appearances from off the bench during his time at the club. The U’s are not expected to seek a renewal.