TOWN caretaker manager Dave Byrne has slammed his side for being a “cheap team”, after watching them continue to pay the price for their failure to keep possession.

Three 2-2 draws on the spin have seen Byrne remain unbeaten so far during his temporary tenure, but during that spell Swindon have lost out on four vital points by conceding two last-minute goals, including one against Peterborough on Tuesday night.

And the stand-in gaffer insists Town’s problems are all their own doing, revealing: “We put ourselves under pressure because we don’t keep the ball properly.

“I’m not going to name individuals, but I thought as a team we were very poor in possession (against Peterborough).

“It’s something that we’ve done all season and it causes you problems.

“I wouldn’t say Peterborough are any better than us, but they kept the ball better and it’s very difficult to get your back four out when the ball is coming straight back at them.

“We’ve got to do better in possession. When we do get the ball down and pass, you can see that there’s only one team in it because we move the ball well, but we make it so easy for sides to come and batter us.

“We need to make sure we’re not a cheap team, and that’s exactly what we were in the second half (on Tuesday). What I mean by that is that we give the ball away too easily - we give it away in our own half, which is suicide.

“You cannot fault the players’ commitment, attitude and work ethic, which was absolutely first class, but we’ve got to go away and work on the finer points.”

Having conceded three ‘worldy’ goals in just two games, Byrne was also left bemoaning his side’s luck at the other end of the pitch.

Rickie Lambert and Chris Lines both hit superb strikes for Bristol Rovers last weekend, before Peterborough’s Shaun Batt fired an outstanding half-volley past Town stopper Phil Smith from 25 yards on Tuesday night.

And Byrne insists his side rarely end up scoring those kind goals themselves.

“Our last three games is six goals scored and six against, and it’s a funny game,” he admitted.

“We have to work hard for our goals,” admitted Byrne. “We hit shots from the edge of the box and they fly into the stand and kill pigeons in the roof.

“But they hit balls from outside the box and they fly into the top corner of our net.”