RICHIE Wellens believes Swindon Town’s efficiency in both boxes ranks as one of the poorest of the 24 teams in League Two – and has demanded players to increase physicality levels at Cheltenham Town this afternoon.

The Town boss has blasted his side’s set-piece to goals conversion rate, adding that no player has shown the interest required with regards to putting their body on the line when searching for a goal.

Today could mark the end of Town’s mathematical hopes of reaching the play-offs. Should Exeter City beat Oldham Athletic, that would consign Wellens’ side to a third season in a row in League Two.

Colchester United, Carlisle United, Stevenage, Newport County, Oldham and Crewe Alexandra sit between Town and the play-off frame, making a top-seven finish a near impossible task.

But Wellens looked at the bigger picture ahead of his side’s visit to Gloucestershire today, and says teams like Lincoln City and Mansfield Town have displayed greater signs of bravery than his squad have all season.

He said: “I think we’re probably one of the poorest teams in both boxes.

“If we get a corner, no one wants to head it. Recent weeks we’ve worked on short corners, and we have scored from second phases.

“But I watched Mansfield against Lincoln a few weeks ago. In that game, the ball is being put into the box and you’ll have three or four players from each side going for it.

“Heads are being cracked together – both teams were as brave as anything. The physio was on every two minutes.

“We haven’t scored a goal directly from a corner – we’re five points off the play-offs and haven’t scored a goal directly from a set-piece, that’s frightening.

“It’s a massive part of the game – we need a bit more physicality in our team.”

Wellens pin-pointed Yeovil Town’s injury time strike at the County Ground on April 6 as Town’s biggest sucker-punch of the season.

A win that day would’ve lifted Town to within two points of the top seven.

Relegation form has been installed into Town’s results since, though, with only four points secured from the last 15 available.

Wellens added: “We didn’t have time to respond to that goal against Yeovil – we kicked off and lost two points.

“Sometimes in the season ,you score last-minute winners and think: ‘That has turned it for us’. Looking back, that was a moment where it sucked the life out of us – and we haven’t got the characters to respond.

“After Yeovil, we had three tremendous performances but didn’t win. Every single win we’ve had, we’ve been at our maximum to win the game.

“There have been a lot of games where we have played really well and failed to win. We need a different mentality – one where we know we might not play well but still win by a goal.”