SWINDON Town’s League Two trip to Mansfield Town is a bigger game than hosting Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup, according to head coach Ben Garner.

Garner’s comments came during Wednesday’s pre-match press conference after he was asked by Adver Sport if maintaining the level of consistency in the team’s preparation would help when trying to cause a cup upset against the Premier League champions.

With the club in fifth, Swindon’s League Two campaign could still prove a successful one, however, most signs point to Town’s FA Cup journey ending on Friday night at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s men.

With that in mind, Garner suggested while one is the bigger game in terms of hype, the other is far more important long term.

He said: “You’d like to think that by keeping things as normal as possible, if it falls for us on the day then we may have a chance. Consistency is key.

“For example, if we prepared in a completely different way this week and we put a lot more focus on this game, for me, that’s disrespectful for when we pay Mansfield on Tuesday night.

“For me, that’s a bigger game than the Man City game.

“I know this is a fantastic game for the football club and it’s huge for the supporters, and yes we want to do well, but I’d love to get three points at Mansfield on Tuesday night.

“We’ll be consistent with how we prepare – if we do that then we’re giving ourselves the best possible chance in each game we play.”

The key phrase is Garner’s pre-match press conference was ‘consistency’ as the Town boss attempted to fend off questions from all comers that featured the words; ‘extra’ or ‘different’.

Swindon’s head coach is hopeful that by preparing in the same way as they do every week, his players will be as free of nerves and inhibition as can be helped.

Garner said: “We’ve prepared as we would normally do. We haven’t made a big deal out of [this game].

“Man City are human, they make mistakes like we do. What know what a talented group they have – they’ve got world-class players.

“We know we’ve got to be at our very, very best to have a chance in the game – that’s our focus.

“We want to walk towards that pressure and that challenge and take it on.

“By doing that, by giving your best, by working hard, you give yourself the best possible chance of winning the game, and not only that but enjoying it as well.”