WORK on the training ground to improve Swindon Town’s efficiency in the final third is inevitable, according to captain Olly Lancashire following Tuesday night’s disappointing one-goal loss at Crewe Alexandra.

Swindon enjoyed plenty of possession in Crewe’s half throughout their latest League Two contest, but were restricted to only three shots on target from 10 as Town were shut out for a second successive game.

Morale up front seemingly couldn’t be further from Town’s faultless 3-0 win at Yeovil just 10 days earlier, a fixture in which Phil Brown’s men performed with a clinical edge to prevent the Glovers registering what would have been a seventh successive clean sheet.

But subsequent fixtures at home to Oldham coupled with Tuesday night’s loss at the Alexandra Stadium have seen Town register only four shots on target, a stat which Lancashire admits has registered in the dressing room.

He said: “There’s frustration, disappointment and a bit of anger.

“To come to Crewe and lose by a goal, we are disappointed. We travelled aiming to pick up three points.

“We started well and got sloppy. It seemed to be the final pass (that let us down).

“We got into the final third, but we lost our composure. I’m sure the manager and Neil (McDonald) will work on it with us this week.

“We’ll be working hard to score goals come Saturday against Northampton.”

Lancashire, who linked up with Town in summer 2017 after his contract at Shrewsbury was terminated, suggested a mental issue might be hindering Swindon’s ability to play at their maximum potential.

Not all is negative though as Lancashire’s centre-half teammate Sid Nelson can boast an impressive defensive record since Brown was forced into starting Luke McCormick in goal following Lawrence Vigouroux’s international call-up with Chile.

“When you come to Crewe, you can sometimes bully them, if you like,” said Lancashire.

“But we played them at their own game and I’m not sure that’s what we travelled to do.

“One-nil is a disappointing result.

“Results show that there’s a problem. There’s obviously a problem mentally, so we’ve got to work hard.

“There are always discussions after a game, people will voice their opinions.

“As captain it’s important I make sure everyone is on board and I underline the message the manager voices.

“If you’ve got 25 lads all on the same sheet we can be a good team.

“We definitely got in the areas (at Crewe). The lads will come in and work hard to try and put things right.’’