Swindon Town first-team coach Tommy Wright has been speaking to the press ahead of Saturday’s League Two clash with Leyton Orient, and he’s called on winger Lloyd Isgrove to improve his game.
Isgrove has been a big hit with Robins fans in the opening stages of the season, chipping in with a string of assists following his arrival on a free transfer from Barnsley in the summer. He’s helped propel Swindon to fifth in the early League Two table, but the coaching staff are demanding more from the twenty-six-year-old, especially in terms of his goal return.
Wright told the Swindon Advertiser: ‘Lloyd has got a very good end product but what I would say is that he needs to score more himself.’
‘I have always told him that in the times I have had him.’
‘He has got a great record with assists, but sometimes he has got to chip in with goals.’
‘I think he has got to get in certain areas where he can score goals, which he can do better, and we have spoken about that.’
Wright worked with Isgrove when the two were together at Barnsley and is not surprised Robins have fans have quickly taken to him, ‘He has been popular since he came to the club. The fans like him.’
‘Someone said he is like Matt Ritchie when he was here with that busy style – and look at what he has gone on to do.’
‘You have got to remember that Lloyd has played at a higher level.’
The winger came through the ranks at Southampton where he made one Premier League substitute appearance against Liverpool in 2014. He starred for Barnsley in their League One play-off final victory over Millwall, scoring the third goal in a 3-1 win and made sixteen outings in the Championship for the Tykes in 2017/18. To further illustrate his pedigree he also made eight Championship appearances for Sheffield Wednesday in 2015
Wright concluded, ‘He is a very good player.’
Our View
It was a surprise to some when Isgrove dropped down to League Two; he is an outstanding player for fourth-tier level.
The attitude at Swindon seems spot-on for a promotion push.
Isgrove has been a revelation for the County Ground faithful, but the management team rightly want more.
Wright is correct; an in-form Isgrove should be aiming for a double-figure for a team that should dominate a lot of sides this season.
