TOWN’S superb first-half display laid the platform for what was a much-needed and well-earned win against Bradford on Tuesday.

Though the result was, of course, crucial, the performance, especially in the opening stanza, was a perfect response to the previous three defeats.

Manager Mark Cooper talks a lot about performances, but prior to the game he had chosen a different topic: a slightly bizarre take on recent media coverage of his team.

As someone personally responsible for the coverage of Swindon Town within these pages and online, I am fairly certain I had not used the word ‘crisis’, nor had I seen it in any other media outlet.

Cue the odd quizzical look after Cooper made reference to the media being ‘desperate to say this is a crisis’ following Town’s recent stumbles.

Sure, there have been (rare) occasions when displays and results have fallen below the very high standards they themselves have set and the media have reflected that – as they have on the many occasions when the team has excelled this season.

Hyperbole and sensationalism, despite what some have chided this newspaper for (the latter term, in particular, seems to have become a catch-all term to describe stories some don’t like) have not reared their heads.

Cooper’s observation that the media were ‘desperate’ to bring the ‘crisis’ word into play struck more as a man looking to create a distraction, a tactic straight out of the Jose Mourinho managerial manual perhaps?

Chelsea’s boss loves a dip in the pool of subversion, concocting conspiracies and crusades at will, so perhaps Town’s manager merits the benefit of the doubt and his comments were designed more as a galvanising tactic for his own squad than anything else.

If so, it could be argued – on Tuesday’s first-half performance – it worked.

Yet while it makes for more column inches, personally it does little to dissipate the feeling one is being fobbed off.

If a team plays below standards, does anyone get a broken heart if a manager says so?

The same goes for the players.

Wes Foderingham’s minor outburst on Twitter after Tuesday’s win was refreshing.

Elements of the County Ground crowd were too quick to get on the back of a team who were winning and, for the majority of the season, have provided so much entertainment.

Yet perhaps it is social media offerings like that of the goalkeeper that lead to the sort of decisions like Town’s last weekend to not allow the players to speak to the media after the defeat against Crawley.

If so, it’s sad that a club feels the needs to shelter its players from such observation - and to some extent, it has the opposite effect.

Instead of forging an honest discussion, ‘radio silence’ serves only to cause anger to pour from some other orifices, whether in the stands or on social media.

No one is suggesting public shaming, but taking the plaudits for success and the scrutiny – and in some cases - criticism when those standards are not reached go hand in hand.

Town have set the bar high for themselves this season. With that comes much deserved high praise, but also increased scrutiny.

Providing both is part of this job.