Cox says he had to leave Reading for first-team football

If confidence means goals then Swindon striker Simon Cox should have no trouble reaching his target of 25 for the upcoming season.

Cox, 21, is not short of belief heading into the start of the season on Saturday and has been buoyed further by a pre-season bringing plenty of goals.

He has scored against Fenerbahce, Steaua Bucharest and Portsmouth.

"I'm setting a 25-goal target and hopefully I'll get to 15 before Christmas," Cox told BBC Sport.

"Pre-season's been good for me on a personal basis because strikers go on goals and if you have a good pre-season you set yourself up for a good campaign."

When you consider Fenerbahce reached the quarter-finals of last season's Champions League and Portsmouth won the FA Cup, Cox could be one of the strikers to watch in League One during the upcoming campaign.

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"I'm a confidence player so scoring goals and, especially against good sides like Fenerbahce, Steaua Bucharest and Portsmouth, is good for me," he added.

"Fenerbahce had Roberto Carlos playing at left-back, Alex in central midfield and Mateja Kezman up front so it's not as if it was their reserve side. They had a strong side out and we did really well."

Cox joined Swindon on loan from Reading in August 2007 before turning his switch into a permanent move during the January 2008 transfer window.

He scored 15 goals for the Robins during the past campaign and says he needed to move for first-team football.

"I'm not one of those players who sits around and picks up a pay cheque every week," he explained.

"I'm not happy if I am not playing so I had to get out of Reading to play football and further my own career.

"If I could have done it at Reading I would have stayed but the chances were very limited so I had to leave and play regular first-team football.

"I have a lot of confidence in my ability and I took a drop down the leagues knowing that if I scored goals and put in good performances week-in week-out I'd hopefully get back to the level I am capable of playing at."