Richie Wellens proud of his Swindon players after draw at Newport

Swindon Town boss Richie Wellens was proud of his players after they drew 0-0 at Newport County last night.

After a slow start, Swindon grew into the match and had the better of the chances but came up against Newport’s in-form Joe Day who was outstanding between the posts, capping his display off with an incredible double save from Dion Conroy with twenty minutes left.

A draw was not ideal for Swindon’s late run for a League Two play-off place, but Wellens men were given a boost when news reached South Wales that Exeter had unexpectedly lost at relegation-threatened Macclesfield.

The point leaves the Robins in tenth place, three points off the top seven with five games to play, and Wellens told the Swindon Advertiser he thought it was a great team performance. “We passed the ball so well, and their goalkeeper was outstanding. I think the biggest shock of the night was when Josh Sheehan was announced as their man of the match.’

‘Some of the saves the goalkeeper pulled off were very assured, so congratulations to him for keeping a clean sheet for his team, but I can’t speak highly enough of my players.’

‘I am proud of them. It was a really good team performance from front to back. Their keeper did pull off some great saves, but we just lacked that little bit of quality in the final pass as well.’

‘The keeper pulled off a double save from Dion (Conroy) – first from the header and the one from the volley was a ridiculous save.’

Swindon travel to Wellens former club Oldham Athletic at the weekend looking to extend their unbeaten run to six games and keep the pressure on the teams above them.

Our View

Wellens has done a great job since he took charge following the dismissal of Phil Brown in November and he is right not to be disappointed with a point at what is a notoriously difficult place to go.

The Robins were seventeenth when he took the reins, but he has not only steadied the ship he has engineered an unlikely assault on the playoffs.

It might be too late for them this season, but they may well be one to watch next season if Wellens receives further backing in the summer.

Wellens had a disappointing stint at Oldham but he appears to have found his feet at the County Ground, and after five managers in three years, the Wiltshire club could do with some stability and success.