SWINDON Town’s FA Cup exit to Stockport County last weekend could oddly end up being “a blessing in disguise,” according to the club’s head coach Scott Lindsey.

Town suffered a rare but total off day at Edgeley Park on Saturday, losing 4-0 to the Hatters and being dumped out of the world’s oldest cup competition.

A competition which, last season, gave fans one of the most memorable days following the club in the form of a third-round tie at home to Manchester City.

While the disappointment over the result will have undoubtedly lasted a day or two within the Town camp, Lindsey hopes the sting of knowing their performance was nowhere near good enough will drive his players on to achieve success in League Two this season.

In the aftermath of Saturday’s mauling against Stockport, the Town boss suggested that a disastrous showing was better to arrive in a cup game than in the club’s bread and butter.

Lindsey said: “It’s a lesson for us, definitely. We’re highly unlikely to win the FA Cup, but there is a chance we can get promoted.

“To play that poorly in a knock-out competition is disappointing. On reflection, hopefully come the end of the season we’ll be thinking this was actually what was needed, in a strange way.

“It could be like a blessing in disguise if we look at it in a positive way.”

While Swindon are winless in five cup games under Lindsey, it could be argued the performances in all but the most recent have been perfectly acceptable.

Underwhelming displays have also been a rarity in League Two as well – with only two or three different blots on the club’s copybook.

Lindsey was adamant that his players will not be dropping to those low standards again though and is expecting plenty of hard work ahead of Saturday’s game against Tranmere Rovers.

Lindsey said: “We can ensure this is just a one-off by demanding that the players don’t perform like that ever again.

“I’ve got manage and lead the group, and I demand certain standards. I’ll never accept standards like that ever again.

“I never have done anyway, but I need to make sure that as a manager and a group of staff, we’re spot on with everything we do and we’re on them all the time.

“It’s probably a learning curve too. We’ve got to see how we react to this setback. I know how I will react, by working even harder, and I’ll be expecting my players to do the same.”