ANDY KING stubbornly refuses to accept that Town's play-off dream is now dead, although he concedes a lack of ruthlessness could ultimately prove costly in the final shake up.

Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Hartlepool United leaves the Wiltshire outfit 11th in League One, some six points adrift of the coveted sixth spot.

King feels his team are simply not stubborn enough opponents on a consistent basis.

The manager has pinpointed a lack of dominance in both penalty areas, Town again conceding bad goals while spurning chances at the other end.

King said: "We've had a problem for a year, even last year when we were successful.

"We just don't keep clean sheets on a regular basis and we're not hard to beat.

"We're lovely on our day, we're very attractive and we play good football, but we're not hard to beat.

"We have too many weak performances on too many occasions and that leads to inconsistency.

"The fact is we are giving away simple goals and not converting chances at the other end.

"I'm their biggest fan but I can also be their biggest critic. That's my job."

Town's task now looks a daunting one, but the manager won't hear any talk that the mission is now a hopeless one.

He said: "I keep belief, I won't ever let belief go and we now have to take what we've learned against Hartlepool and not be beaten again."

Preparations for Saturday's match weren't helped when sickness forced defender Steve Jenkins to withdraw during the warm-up.

Physio Dick Mackey said: "Steve was feeling nauseous for some reason and we had the doctor check him out.

"He wasn't able to play, but I'm glad to say he was feeling better by the time we set off for home."