Swindon boss Luke Williams left worried over squad's mental strength

Swindon manager Luke Williams firmly believes that the mental strength of his players is playing a big part in the club's recent form and vice versa.

Swindon, who have just four squad members over the age of 25, lost 4-1 at league leaders Scunthorpe United on Saturday afternoon and found themselves 4-0 down before half-time at Glanford Park.

The hammering, along with results elsewhere, saw Swindon sink into the League One relegation zone after a run of form that has seen them win just two league matches since August.

At the full-time whistle, manager Williams bemoaned the mental stability of his young squad. 

"We started the game fine and the first good chance is (by) us and then we do not mark properly in the box (it is) too easy and then the fear creeps in and then we look second to everything," Williams began.

"We look confused and too worried to make a decision (they) walk into the box (and it is) 2-0, then the fear gets worse.

"We can't make a pass, we can't make a decision, we concentrate, lose focus, we hesitate (and) it is 4-0 at half-time."

The Town chief said he does not know know the definitive answer to get the players out of the psychological slump, but he did reveal he had a meeting with them not long ago to find the root cause of the issue that plagues them.

"Some time ago I asked the squad what it takes to be a top player. They listed off 20-odd and out of 20, one of them was a physical demand, the others were mental strengths.

"The biggest thing in football is the mental side of it and it is the hardest thing to see from the side because everything we see with our eyes is physical but the mental side of it is more important and, unfortunately, the group buckled under the pressure - the confidence is not there and it showed."

Williams is also not sure if a result like the one at Scunthorpe will have more of an impact on them than the other results.

"Time will tell, but the players need to overcome that (fear) if they want to be serious of having a career in football and they need to overcome that fear quickly and you need to be strong and resilient to bounce back.

"They (the Swindon fans) come a long way to see us and the minimum requirement is that the players really apply themselves and give every single effort.

"Of course, when the players are so nervous it can give the impression that they are not pressing or trying to make a tackle but (it) is more to do with hesitating.

"There are too many things in the head and it gives a terrible impression that the players are not ready to run and not prepared to tackle. Either way, it is not acceptable. These are professional footballers that have to overcome all these things and the bare essentials should be there.

"In this group, too many players feel defeated once a goal has gone against and their performance suffers from that and, unfortunately, if you want to consistently win games or at least pick up points you have to be able to overcome setbacks in games."