SWINDON Town head coach Scott Lindsey believes the club’s 3-0 defeat to Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy will “galvanise” his squad due to the many positive aspects they can take from it.

Lindsey felt Swindon were the better side for much of the first half at the Memorial Stadium – despite seeing both Ciaran Brennan and Ricky Aguiar sent off in separate incidents.

The tie unravelled for the Robins after the break, however, as goals from Ryan Loft, Harry Anderson, and Luke McCormick wrapped up a comfortable 3-0 victory for the Gas.

Asked how easy it would be for his squad to put such a disappointing night behind them quickly, Lindsey suggested it would be quite simple.

He said: “If anything, that defeat galvanises us because of the fact we’ve put a shift in and played against a League One side and been the better team – certainly in the first half.

“The second half was harder to gauge, but I still think there were moments in the game where we could have got back into it.

“There was the one where Tyrese Shade got through and squared it to Tomi Adeloye when he could have shot himself. It was a great ball from Ellis (Iandolo) in the build-up.

“I’m really proud of the players’ efforts, there was a lot to take from it, so I think it will galvanise us more than anything.”

Defeat to Rovers ensured Swindon ended their EFL Trophy campaign with no points, despite – in Lindsey’s words “two-and-a-half good performances.”

The Town boss felt his players have learned plenty from the experience and was proud to see each member of his squad implanting the club’s philosophy when they featured.

Reflecting on the 2022-23 EFL Trophy campaign as a whole, Lindsey said: “I’ve actually enjoyed two-and-a-half games in this competition.

“I didn’t enjoy the second half of Tuesday night – it was a long half, for obvious reasons – but I enjoyed the first half, I thought we played well.

“I thought we played really well against Crystal Palace U21s and I thought we played really well against Plymouth Argyle as well.

“They have been games which we’ve got a lot from. OK, the results haven’t been what we want, but in terms of individual and team performances, you can clearly see these boys are playing the same style and quality of football as the boys who play on a Saturday.

“From my perspective, the lads are really learning on the training ground and they’re taking everything on board – which I’m pleased with.”