AFTER securing four points from the previous two games, Swindon’s mini-recovery came to a grinding halt after a complete no-show from the entire squad against Gillingham.

The result puts Town bottom of the recent form charts, after taking just four points from a possible 18 in the last six League One games.

It was easily one of the worst team performances this season and they should be criticised for an under-par display. Losing to Gillingham 3-0 at home is never acceptable in any season.

A total lack of decisiveness from players and management was obvious when they could see Plan A wasn’t working.

But some fans and myself need to take a step back, a deep breath and gain some perspective.

Town are still just two points from second place, and sit 13 points inside the play-offs in early March — a position I would never have dreamed we would be in last August.

On Tuesday night every single player looked exhausted and painfully short of confidence, especially in the second half.

After playing non-stop this season in League One and the Asian Cup, both Massimo Luongo and Yaser Kasim looked shattered.

Ideally they would both be rested this Saturday, but with Louis Thompson now on the sidelines, neither can afford to miss any of the last 12 games.

After being told continually throughout the season by the chairman, that Town has one of the smallest budgets in League One, this scenario was always likely to be on the cards.

While we watch our rivals make two or three changes a game, Town can only select from a small number of players, as Mark Cooper had to look to his youth team squad to make up the numbers on the bench.

Out of all the top five teams playing on Tuesday night, Town had just 17 players available, compared to Preston’s 27-man squad, Bristol City’s 19, Milton Keynes 25 and Sheffield United’s 26.

It puts Town at a disadvantage compared to the other rival clubs gunning for promotion.