IAN Woan hopes a touch of Brian Clough magic can rub off on his colleagues as they prepare to face Wrexham.

The player, who is on a week-to-week contract, has also confirmed he wants to sign a long-term deal for Town, despite rumours of interest from Reading.

The former Nottingham Forest midfielder believes his old boss deserves a lot of praise for developing his range of passing skills and accuracy from set pieces.

Woan's displays for Town have drawn acclaim but the player himself jokes that fear of rejection at Forest is probably partly responsible.

He said: "I was brought up during the Brian Clough era at Nottingham Forest. If you couldn't pass the ball he wouldn't keep you at the club."

Woan made more than 200 appearances for Forest after joining from Runcorn in 1990.

He experienced both the highs and lows of Brian Clough's reign at the City Ground, before Cloughie's retirement at the end of the 1992-93 season.

Those days are long gone but Woan hopes the Clough influence can help Town's push up the Division Two table.

"Every time in training at Forest he (Clough) would get the balls out and do set pieces. So many goals come from set pieces and we used to capitalise on them so much. Hopefully I have brought a little bit of that to Swindon," he said.

Woan admits Town's style is not quite in the Forest mould. "I don't get that much of the ball here so I have to make the most of it when I get it," he joked. "I seem to head it more than I kick it.

"The games are coming thick and fast, that's for sure. The lads are gaining in confidence and we will be looking for another win against Wrexham."

Woan is hopeful of making a permanent switch to the County Ground.

"I am more than happy at Swindon. I have a lot of respect for Andy King. If Swindon decide they want to keep me, I will be more than happy to sign," he said.

Club skipper Alan Reeves is also looking forward to the Wrexham clash.

Saturday's late goal hero said: "They're going OK, about mid-table. They're a good side going forward. It will be a difficult game. We won't be scared of them though. They should be scared of coming here."

The Town captain said he hoped better results would continue to draw more fans to the County Ground. He praised the turnout for the Wycombe clash and urged the fans to continue that support against Wrexham.