Roberts: It's Been Tough

Striker Christian Roberts has admitted that he has had a tough time coming back from various personal problems this season.

'It was nice to get a goal the other day but to be honest, coming back has been a bit difficult for me, ' the fan favourite said.

'But this is just something I have to get on with now - there is a month or so left in the season and I have to play in as many games as I can.'

'It's difficult to judge how close to being ready for first-team football you are from reserve games.'

'The only way you can judge that is from playing in first-team games, and the obviously that's a decision for the gaffer (Iffy Onuora) to make.'

Roberts joined Swindon last season from local rivals Bristol City and started his Swindon career in the best possible way. He scored goals against Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City last season to make him an instant hit with the fans. The goals shortly dried up and this season was virtually non-existant on the pitch. It soon came out that Christian Roberts had problems with alcohol and was admitted into the Sporting Chance alcohol clinic.

'Football-wise, all I can do is work hard, get through training and do as much as I can before the end of the season.

'The problems I have had to overcome this season have not been normal football problems, and sometimes it seems as though I've been coming up against one hurdle after another.'

Last month just after Roberts had left the sporting chance clinic he was burgled at home while he and his family were asleep. 'Getting burgled puts extra pressure on you. Obviously the main thing is that nobody got hurt, but there is a lot of hassle to sort out insurance-wise.

'It's been a hard year and I just to want to draw a line under it and then get over it.

'Maybe I need to look at the long-term picture, but there is also an immediate picture, and that is the relegation fight Swindon are in.

'It's a difficult time for the club as well as myself.'

Roberts is still receiving help and guidance from the counsellors and support staff at the Sporting Chance Clinic as he battles to fight his problems with alcohol.

'Things have changed drastically for me since I've been out, ' Roberts said.

'There have been a lot of things I've had to deal with, which maybe I didn't take into consideration - things to do with what will happen to myself, mentally and physically.

'I've had difficulty sleeping, that sort of thing, but I think I have gone through the worst of it now and I've just got to adjust my body.

'I still speak to everybody at the clinic and they have been fantastic to me.

'I've got good people around me.'

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