SWINDON Town manager Richie Wellens would much rather win ugly than see a good performance fail to be rewarded with victory.
Town’s 2-2 draw at Oldham Athletic on Saturday made it three League Two games in a row where Wellens’ side have largely outplayed their opponents over 90 minutes but still been held all-square come full-time.
That three-point haul from matches against the Latics, Newport County and Yeovil Town look likely to cost Town a place in the play-offs as they are five points adrift with four games to go.
Speaking post-match at Boundary Park, Wellens says he is getting fed up of being complemented on his side’s ability by opposing managers after failing to kill off a game.
“We are still a work in progress, and if you asked Oldham, Yeovil and Newport, they would say we are a hard to play,” said Wellens.
“The rotation of the ball, the quickness of possession – we are a really good team.
“But I am sick of going in for a drink with the opposition manager after the game and them saying we’re the best team they’ve played but we’ve only drawn.
“I want to get to a stage where I don’t care how they say we’ve played – I want them to say we’re a good team and we’ve won the game.”
Saturday’s game marked a first return to Boundary Park for former Oldham boss Wellens, who spent almost nine months in chare of the Latics during the 2017-18 season.
The Town chief was quick to praise the battling qualities shown by his old side to grind out a point.
“Credit to Oldham because they dug in, they had to run a lot and work a lot,” said Wellens.
“They stayed in the game and the last 15 minutes were like a basketball game because we were both going for it as a draw is no good.
“We should have been out of sight by the end, but a point is no good for us and a point is no good for them.
“All in all, it’s a very positive day. I enjoyed watching the difference in tempo. Sometimes we were methodical and kept the ball, then when we need that gear change, we changed really well.
“There were a lot of positives.”
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