PAOLO Di Canio described Swindon Town’s performance in their 1-0 home defeat to Leyton Orient on Saturday as the worst he has seen at home from his side during his tenure at the County Ground .
Lee Cook’s goal just before the hour mark condemned Town to their first defeat in Wiltshire for the first time in more than a year and inflicted a third consecutive loss on the Robins in the space of just six days.
Di Canio stressed how disappointed he was with the display, insisting the way his team lost meant more to him than being stripped of their remarkable home record.
“This is the worst, especially at home,” he said. “If it happened like Preston away then I know we have some difficulty to go away and play exactly the same football, except Stoke City, than when we play at home.
“Just because it was at home against a team that is at the bottom and we didn’t underestimate them because we showed them the clips and they have quality and they have pedigree, the fact that it happened at home it was an empty, empty performance in terms of heart, desire. Some players started to fear.
“The same players that 10 days ago played against Stoke, Brighton, MK Dons and Crawley.
“Now it’s not the problem for me to lose one game or two games. I’m angry and sad at the way we lost because of the performance but I’m not worried because my players should follow me in the way I did last year.
“One day we have to lose at home. It’s not about the record, it’s the way we lost that didn’t make me enjoy it.
“Honestly, there wasn’t passion or desire or 100 per cent commitment in this game. It doesn’t mean my players deliberately didn’t want to perform but it happened.
“I probably overestimated some of my players and that is the manager’s responsibility.
“I hope the players analyse themselves. I know it is difficult but I hope they analyse themselves.
“We have very good players but football is not only about technical ability, it is about brain.”
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