Swindon 2-1 Wigan: Daily Mirror match report

Finally the manic street preacher’s blur of waving arms and deranged body language reached its ­triumphant conclusion.

Paolo Di Canio may still be barking, but at resurgent Swindon Town he is definitely top dog.

Serenaded throughout at the County Ground by the operatic refrain Giuseppe Verdi wrote especially for him, Di Canio sprinkled a rare handful of stardust on the FA Cup.

Fists once clenched in fascist salutes to ultras at his beloved Lazio are now sheathed in black gloves, pumping symbols of the heartbeat behind Swindon’s run of just one defeat in 19 games.

And Di Canio’s cabaret on the ­touchline – wonderfully spontaneous, utterly demented – was as energetic as his players’ performance, crowned by Alan Connell’s nifty glancing header and substitute Paul Benson’s deserved, if fortuitous, winner.

Who needs a New Year detox diet of bird seed and rabbit food when Di Canio’s floor show can burn a million calories in 90 minutes?

Wigan, half-hearted and lightweight, we can deal with summarily. After Callum McManaman had buried his chance when Ben Watson’s penalty rebounded kindly off the post, they played the fall guys expertly.

Swindon were so spirited, and so dominant, that Roberto Martinez’s stooges didn’t have a single goal attempt worthy of the name after the interval. All they could force was just one cornetto. But take nothing away from Di Canio, shedding a tear for his father Ignazio, who died last year, and his Great Western underdogs.

With typical understatement, the great showman claimed this was better than scoring the winner in a famous Cup upset at Old Trafford in 2001 for West Ham, a club he is surely destined to manage if he makes a decent fist of it at Swindon. “You need a bit of luck sometimes, but we didn’t win today because of luck but because we deserved to win,” he said.

“This feels completely different to scoring the winner against Manchester United. As a player you score a goal, you celebrate; but as a manager I feel a big responsibility because it’s your decisions, your strategy, which direct the players in the right way or the wrong way. It was an emotional day and I promise it was difficult not to run on the pitch.

“When you beat a team three ­divisions above you after being a goal down, it is a special achievement.

“Scoring at Old Trafford will always live in my brain, but that was many years ago and this is now. It the best moment of my career, my life.

“Like many managers who start at a lower level, my ambition is to work at the top level. But with a good plan that we have already for the future here, why can’t I do this with my club now?” Di Canio’s managerial career may have started in a public grappling match with striker Leon Clarke, but ­Swindon’s players are lining up to praise him now.

Benson, who joined the club a week ago with Clarke shipped out in exchange, said: “The media portrayal of Paolo Di Canio is very different to the manager I’ve come across. The one I have experienced is very meticulous in his planning, very ­knowledgeable about every level of football from the Premier League to the ­Conference, and the players are all behind him.

“I haven’t seen the mad Paolo yet, and maybe a lot of people think he will not know players at this level, but I can assure you he knows his stuff – and he knows how to knit a team together.

“Anyone can build a side with £100million, but only the best can work with a modest budget and put together a great squad who are prepared to pitch in and battle together.

“I was languishing in the reserves at Charlton and not even on the subs’ bench. Then I found out Swindon wanted me and I was due to come here in November, but we missed the ­deadline by three minutes.

“As soon as it fell through, Swindon ­indicated they still wanted to sign me in January, and when New Year’s Day came round, it was all signed and sealed. I know Roberto Martinez thought my goal was offside, and I must admit my first instinct was to look across at the linesman because I wasn’t 100 per cent sure myself. But being in the right place at the right time is all part of a striker’s brief.”

And former Tottenham trainee Connell, signed from Grimsby for £115,000 in the summer after scoring 25 goals for the Mariners last season, said: “That’s three in my last three games, so I’m on a good run and the team are riding the crest of a wave.

“The most satisfying part is that we deserved it – we didn’t nick it or pick their pockets. We played with pace, power and quality, especially in the second half, and moments like this are why you live to play football.

“There is nothing like playing for Paolo Di Canio. He was passionate as a player and he’s carried that trait into management, but his attention to detail is incredible.

“Everyone focuses on his ­mannerisms on the touchline, but he does a lot of research with his technical staff before every game, he shares all the relevant intelligence with us and today we carried out his instructions to the letter.

“But it’s his passion which rubs off on the players, we are on a great run, and now we built that momentum we’ve got a massive few months coming up and these are exciting times to be part of the club.”