SWINDON Town head coach Ben Garner paid tribute to the work ethic of both his players and fellow coaches after another stout defensive performance away at Oldham Athletic on Saturday.

Town were mainly the dominant force in their 3-1 victory, but Oldham did enjoy a 15-minute spell of pressure in the second half. Even still, the brief period resulted in very few shots on Jojo Wollacott’s goal.

While Carl Piergianni did eventually head Oldham’s only goal late on, that was one of just three shots on target in 10 for the Latics.

That strong defensive showing was not a flash in the pan from Town. Garner’s men have only conceded 17 goals in 18 games this season, while many of those games have featured a strong rear-guard action.

Asked what Garner has been able to do with this group that hasn’t always been seen down the years from a Town team, the head coach was predictably modest.

He said: “It’s credit to the players because it’s been nothing but hard work on the training ground.

“They’ve bought into everything that we’ve done, and credit to the staff as well – I’ve got a fantastic coaching staff around me.

“We work ever so hard during the week, we really do. We do a lot of training, and a lot of preparation.

“There are a lot of young players in there as well who can learn from the likes of Mathieu Baudry and Ben Gladwin as more senior players in the squad [in terms of work ethic].

“They are just fantastic as a group, they work hard every day, and that’s why they’re improving and developing all the time.”