SWINDON Town head coach Ben Garner says he “did not understand” the boos directed towards his team at half-time of the club’s home game against Harrogate Town last weekend.

With the Yorkshire side a goal to the good and clearly the better team at the County Ground, a fairly loud chorus of boos went up as the referee blew his whistle for the break.

The incident has created plenty of discussion points among the fan base in the days afterwards, and on Friday – ahead of Town’s FA Cup second-round tie away at Walsall – head coach Garner put his perspective forward.

Garner felt the boos were unnecessary and asked that everyone remembers how far the team has come in such a short space of time.

First asked about the expected 2000 fans who will make their way to Walsall on Saturday afternoon, Garner quickly moved onto his experience last weekend.

He said: “I did hear a few boos on Saturday at half-time, which I don’t understand. It doesn’t help anyone get behind the players.

“We’ve come a long way in a short space of time. I understand the frustrations at times, but it’s an ongoing process where we have to stick together and keep improving.

“I understand the frustration because we didn’t play well in the first half, and there’s no one more disappointed than us in that dressing room.

“But if I go in and boo the players at half-time, it’s certainly not going to help them perform in the second half.”

Garner went on to say that he felt the atmosphere in the final 10 minutes was “incredible” as Town pushed on to find a winner.

The Town boss is hopeful fans can remain patient when things aren’t going so well and says the positivity from the stands can make a real difference at crucial moments.

Garner said: “Every supporter pays their hard-earned money, they’re entitled to their opinion, I completely understand that.

“But the positive fans, the ones who are getting behind us all the time – they’re the ones that have real value and really help us.

“Our message would be for that to be the case as much as possible, if we don’t play well in a half, it’s not through a lack of effort, through a lack of trying.

“We’re doing our best to correct that in the second half of games, and I thought we did that on Saturday and we were disappointed not to win the game in the end.”