Richie Wellens lambasts Swindon after dire defeat

Posted Sunday, April 28, 2019 by PA

Swindon manager Richie Wellens blasted his players for a lack of desire after their 3-2 defeat at Cheltenham.

They were 3-0 down at half-time before late goals from Theo Robinson and Marc Richards, but Wellens said the late rally could not mask a substandard effort.

“Don’t let the last 10 minutes kid you because it won’t cloud my judgement or change my view of what I think of the players,” Wellens said.

“It wasn’t good enough at all and this club has been riddled for several years with a cancer of acceptance of mediocrity and complacency.

“Next year we will lay down the rules in terms of discipline, values and attitude.

“Where do we start on today? We had no leaders out there.

“The first half was quite a fair reflection of our season really.

“For 20 minutes we were very good and got into some good areas, without making it count.

“At the other end, they scored from two corners, after an own goal that was an absolute calamity.

“I tried not to get too wound up, but at half-time I was so angry I nearly had a heart attack, but 80 per cent of that squad won’t be here next season.

“I nearly had a heart attack because I care and it’s about personal pride, so I want my team to win in front of 1,200 away fans who have come to support us.

“We have people going through the motions and then loan players a couple of whom looked like they couldn’t wait to get back to their parent clubs because there’s nothing to achieve here.

“We have 15 or 16 out of contract and only a couple will stay, so it’s really hard to keep them motivated.”

Michael Duff’s Cheltenham side raced into a three-goal lead, with Swindon in total disarray at the back.

The opener was scored by Swindon defender Luke Woolfenden, who nodded Sean Long’s cross from the right past his own goalkeeper despite being under no pressure from any opposition players.

It was 2-0 after half an hour when Billy Waters headed in from close range and Kevin Dawson scored the third two minutes later.

Duff said: “It’s a good win because they are not a bad team, Swindon.

“They started the game well and for the first 10 minutes we couldn’t quite get to grips with (Kyle) Bennett, who is too good for this level, and he took up some really good positions.

“Once we found a couple of passes, it was a bit of a random goal that set us on our way. All of a sudden we were 3-0 up without actually doing a lot.

“We then managed the game well apart from the last 10 minutes when they scored, but they had nothing to lose.”