Thursday 29 March 2012 16:03, UK
The negative experiences of recent seasons have helped Swindon's Alan McCormack revel in his first term at the County Ground.
A relegation with Southend and a miserable campaign with Charlton, during which McCormack by his own admission was not playing at anywhere near the top of his game, preceded the Irishman's move to Wiltshire. But he has been given a new lease of life with the Robins, where he has become one of the League Two leaders' most prized assets, and McCormack said going through recent low-points in his career have enabled him to fully appreciate the present highs. "I'm the first person to put my hands up and say the last two or three years of my career I've not enjoyed one bit and I'll be honest when I say that," he said. "It was terrible last year, playing personally, and my own ability to play wasn't great. The year before that I got relegated with Southend so it wasn't great and you don't look back on those things well. "But it does make players who they are and it makes you look back after this year, with how it's gone, and look at those years and think I've learnt from it and I'm really enjoying this year. It does make you appreciate this year a lot more."