SWINDON Town manager David Flitcroft is adamant there will be no lingering disappointment in the minds of his players when they return to action this afternoon.

Town’s hopes of automatic promotion out of League Two were hit by a cruel blow on Tuesday night as third-placed Wycombe Wanderers struck late on to snatch a 3-2 victory and move five points clear of Flitcroft’s side in the table.

Swindon remain well placed in the play-off places and go in search of a fifth straight home win today when they take on struggling Port Vale at the Energy Check County Ground.

Although Flitcroft admits defeat at Wycombe was a bitter pill to swallow, the Town boss is sure his troops have the mettle to shake off that frustration and reignite their promotion push.

When asked if it would be hard to lift the Town players on the back of their midweek misery, Flitcroft said: “Absolutely not. This team has come through adversity.

“I don’t change, I stay positive. Straightaway we start the Port Vale work to make sure we are prepared for that so we can move forward and have a positive result on Saturday.

“All we will be thinking about and all we will be concentrating on is the next game against Port Vale.”

Defensive frailties ended up costing Town at Wycombe and Flitcroft is wary that is an area of his side’s game that they need to improve.

However, due to the physical nature of the fourth tier, building a water-tight back-line will always be virtually impossible.

“If you kept a clean sheet in every game, and everyone did it, then football would be an easy game – it is not,” said Flitcroft.

“You have got to have a resolve about you in those key moments. In the big games, you have got to limit the amount of mistakes you make.”