SWINDON Town head coach Ben Garner has been disappointed with the standard of refereeing this season when it comes to clamping down on time wasting.

Town’s previous opponents Port Vale were guilty of the gamesmanship technique even during the first half of Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Swindon, with an excess amount of time regularly taken over throw-ins, goal-kicks, and other set pieces.

Darrell Clarke’s men continued to try and run down the clock when the score was level as well as once they had re-taken the lead inside the final 10 minutes.

Town have been no angels themselves this season though, with a particularly noticeable display of time wasting evident in the club’s 1-0 win away at Salford City.

With the unsightly tactic seemingly on the rise in professional football, Garner said he is not asking for time wasting to be completely eradicated but simply to be far more efficiently managed by the officials.

Speaking after Saturday’s defeat, Garner said: “The only criticism I would have of the officials in games we’ve been involved in this season is the management of the game.

“In terms of the time wasting, the amount of time teams are taking for goal-kicks and throw-ins, people going down etc.

“It’s fine for the opposition to do it, it’s a part of the game, but it’s the officials jobs to track all of that and manage it.

“If teams are doing it, fine, but just add the time on and keep the flow of the game.”

The lack of control over time wasting was not the only issue Garner held with the officials on Saturday.

A nasty challenge on Romoney Crichlow in the first half left the Town defender on the floor holding his head, a late hit that went unpunished.

Despite the Town boss’ grievances, Garner said his team must do better with what they can control and not leave it to the officials to decide their fate.

Garner said: “There was a challenge on Rom (Crichlow) in the first half on Saturday which I was really not happy with.

“It was very late, the ball was gone 20 yards down the pitch, and he’s been caught in the face by a stray arm. That’s not on, it’s not on at all.

“But other than that, we look at ourselves. We’ve got to do better in certain situations and not let factors such as the opposition’s game management become a factor.

“We’ve got to try and win the game through what we do, and not let those external factors come into play as much.”