SWINDON Town manager John Sheridan believes his team will need to produce their best form of the season in the final five games if the club is to remain in League One next season.

Town have won 11 games from 41 fixtures so far, but according to their manager, another three victories will likely be needed if the County Ground club is not to make an immediate return to the fourth tier.

Following Wimbledon, Swindon face fixtures against Portsmouth, MK Dons, Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic.

Should Town secure three points at Plough Lane on Saturday, they will head into the final quartet of games knowing they have previously beaten two of those teams this term.

Sheridan said: “We’ve all got to lift ourselves really. With five games to go, there’s still a realistic possibility and an opportunity to get the points we require and stay up.

“The players should be upset and beat up after losing (on Tuesday), I’m upset and beat up that we keep losing.

“But while we’ve still got an opportunity to rectify our last few games, we’ve got to push ourselves and believe that we’re going to get out of the position we’re in.

“We would need possibly nine or 10 points to give us a good chance of staying up, but that’s going to be very difficult. We’d have to show our best form of the season to do it.”

Town face a Wimbledon side on Saturday that has only lost twice in its previous eight games, owing to the good form of its defence and two up top.

Sheridan explained the game plan of Swindon’s hosts will be similar to that of Burton Albion – a game where Town dominated possession but ultimately lost due to the Brewers' quality at two set pieces.

Sheridan said: “They’re aggressive, they’ve got two lads who will put themselves about, they’ll put us under pressure, they’ll put balls in the box.

“They’ve picked some good results up of late – they’re a team that’s in and around us, but they’ve just picked up a couple of good results. Likewise with Wigan and Burton.

“They’ve got themselves in a position where they will feel confident of getting out of it. We’re going to have to defend a lot better than we have done recently and be ready for a fight.

“We’ve got to try and put our stamp on the game when we can, and like everything, you’ve got to keep the ball out of your own net.”

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