SWINDON Town manager Richie Wellens suggested his team would be in the play-off places if VAR were available in League One.

Wellens’ claim came after the Town boss felt his side was on the wrong end of another poor decision from the officials at the end of Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat away to Northampton Town.

Joel Grant poked the ball into the net following Jonathan Mitchell’s spill, but referee Jarred Gillett blew for an alleged foul and Swindon were denied what would have been a deserved equaliser.

Wellens was left confused and disappointed after seeing the incident post-match, and after stating he would not be talking about referees in the build up to the game, the Town boss made his feeling very clear on officials once again.

Wellens said: “I think we’d be about fourth or fifth in the league if we had VAR.

“At Premier League level, the referees are quite good, and they get the majority of the questions right. Especially the linesmen, the linesmen are very good.

“But at our level – I’d be surprised if over 50 per cent of the decision were right on Tuesday.

“And that’s for them as well because we committed a few fouls where you think: “I thought that should have been a foul,” but the ref plays on.

“To be fair, in the lead up to Northampton’s second goal, the fourth official is telling me it’s a foul.

“I don’t know why the fourth official has that earpiece though, they don’t speak to the refs.”

Wellens continued his rant by suggesting the general conduct of officials in the modern game is too divisive and the man in the middle should engage in conversation and banter with players to enhance the respect between the two parties.

The Town boss then revealed his love for football is waning as the lack of fans and recent run of debatable decisions take their toll on the 40-year-old.

Wellens said: “They (referees) have got no character or charisma.

“I remember when I played, referees would take the mickey out of you if you played a loose pass or something. You’d have a conversation with them and laugh, but you’d respect them.

“The reason why they don’t have respect nowadays is because they don’t have any dialogue with you, and every decision is wrong.

“Honestly, my love for football at the moment – with no supporters and the referee’s decisions – is diminishing by the minute.”