Swindon Town midfielder Jordan Lyden insists Richie Wellens is the man to dig the club out of their current dip in form

In all competitions, Town have won only one of their last seven fixtures – drawing one and losing the rest.

It’s a stark contrast to the form club supporters had become accustomed to at the start of the season, which saw Town win five of their opening eight League Two fixtures.

A distinct lack of forward movement against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday – a game in which Town were outshot 21 to three and held just 36 per cent of possession – frustrated the 500-plus travelling fans, who will no doubt be demanding a reaction when bottom club Stevenage visit SN1 tonight.

Strong words were voiced to players after Saturday’s defeat in Cheshire – something which Lyden admits had to happen to prompt a squad reaction.

He said: “Some players need an arm around their shoulder, others needed to be shouted at.

“I think Richie is the right man. He has played so many games in his career, so he knows which players are capable of getting shouted at.

“I’m one of those players that like being shouted out. And Richie has very good man management skills which is what you need as a manager to move forward.

“That’s what attracted me to the club, to be honest. In my mind, I wanted to be here.

“I knew about Richie when I was growing up, he was the main reason for me to want to be at this great football club.”

Regardless of Stevenage’s current relegation position, Lyden expects no player to underestimate Mark Sampson’s team – who have picked up two points more than Town in the division’s last five gameweeks.

Lyden added: “It’s a long season – we’re a quarter of the way through.

“We’ve had a blip, but hopefully can get back to playing how we were at the start of the season so we can work our way back up to where we should be.

“It doesn’t matter who you face – every team in League Two has their strengths and has their weaknesses.

“We’ll look at how we can expose Stevenage to hopefully pick up three points.”