SWINDON Town manager Richie Wellens will not be at the County Ground to take charge of his side’s League One clash against Hull City as he is still self-isolating following a negative Covid-19 test.

Several members of the Town coaching staff – including assistant manger Noel Hunt, Tommy Wright, and Steve Mildenhall – tested positive for the virus in the days following Swindon’s 2-1 defeat to Northampton Town on October 20.

They only had to self-isolate for 10 days after regaining full health – per government guidelines – while the Town boss must stay away for two weeks after mixing with his staff prior to their positive tests.

The Mancunian will therefore be absent from the dugout for Saturday’s game, and may potentially miss Tuesday night’s trip to Plymouth Argyle as well.

The club announced that assistant manager Hunt and coach Wright will manage the side from the dugout for this afternoon's game.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference, defender Akin Odimayo says Wellens’ absence will make no difference to the players levels of performance as they all know what is at stake.

He said: “It’s been different in training (without Wellens), but the focus from the players has been the same.

“We’ve all been on it, we’re dealing with the situation and we’re just trying to get on with the job at hand against a quality Hull side.

“It will be different without the manager here, but we’ve got experienced guys here and we all know that we have a job to do whether the manager is there or not.

“The experienced players will take the lead and we’ll try and follow on.”

Odimayo revealed academy coaches have taken training in Wellens’ absence while the Town boss has been relaying information that senior players have helped to implement.

Mathieu Baudry, Paul Caddis, Brett Pitman and Anthony Grant have taken turns in leading the group this week, according to the 20-year-old, as Town hope to spring a surprise result on in-form Hull.

Odimayo said: “A lot of what we’ve worked on has been fed back by the manager anyway, and other coaches from within the club have come in and implemented what the manager has been telling them.

“Baudry, Caddis, Pitman and Anthony Grant have led the sessions too, and they’ve made sure our focus has been right.

“For young players like myself, it’s good to have those older heads around to set the tone and the example.

“They’ve made sure we’ve been on it every day – they’ve been really good this week.”