SWINDON still have room to learn and grow says scrum-half Connal Knott ahead of their trip to Witney.

Having won four of their last five outings, Swindon appear to have put a bad spell, which saw them slip down the South West One East table, behind them.

Swindon are now within seven points of fourth spot, which is currently occupied by Witney, and while the upper echelons of the division are where Sean Lynn’s side are more accustomed to finishing, Knott knows it is not a God-given right.

“We’ve been quite fortunate in the last three or four years where we have had consistent seasons and finished in third and fourth,” he said.

“Availability this year has been our biggest problem this year.

“You are always going to have your dips and you have got to adapt and try and re-build a side that can compete for the top four again.

“If we haven’t got the availability of players in key areas then it is going to have a knock-on effect on the team.

“We have a few players back but we are still missing Tom Mannion, which is a big loss and I’m not too sure when he is going to be back playing because he is still recovering from an operation.

“We’ve got to carry on training and improving as a team.

“If you don’t improve then you are not going to get any better. No matter how good you are, you can always be a better player and a better side.”

Knott is expecting a difficult task in hand to close the gap on the top four with results in Oxfordshire not coming easily, having lost 15-5 on the road last season.

“It is going to be a tough weekend,” he added.

“I don’t think I have ever won at Witney and this is my 13th season playing first team rugby.

“That is going to be our biggest challenge yet because they are a very good side at home with a big Oxfordshire pack and they are very well organised in defence.

“Hopefully if we have got the same team as we had out last weekend then we have got a great chance.”