SWINDON Town attacker Jonny Williams believes he and his teammates need to increase the number of risks they take in forward areas if they are to convert the significant possession they often enjoy into more goals.

Town have only managed six goals in nine games so far, despite averaging 56 per cent possession over the course of the season. The average-possession figure rises to 59 per cent if the 29 per cent managed with 10 men for over an hour against Salford City is disregarded.

A game which perhaps summed up Swindon’s shyness in front of goal was the 0-0 draw against Gillingham last time out.

Despite the Gills going down to 10 men for almost a full 90 minutes, Town’s reluctance to force an opportunity or take the game by the scruff of the neck cost them all three points.

Williams said he understands the frustration of the fans and admitted Town could take a few more chances going forward.

He said: “I think we need to find a balance between keeping the ball and trying to force a chance.

“We get that it can be frustrating when we turn opportunities to cross, or we don’t think it’s a great chance to cross.

“But, for me, a lot of goals are scored scrappily. If we can believe in ourselves, beat our men, and then get crosses in, we will create a lot more opportunities and we’ll be harder to play against.

“Against Gillingham, they were set up against us and we kept passing it. Unless we take a chance to cross or shoot, we’ll never know. As a team, I think we need to take more risks.”

Of the half a dozen times Town have bulged the net this term, Williams is the only midfielder to have notched - with left-back Frazer Blake-Tracy scoring the other.

The Welsh international doubled down on his theory that taking more risks will help the club’s goal-scoring cause.

He said: “I think all of our attacking players want to do more in terms of goals and assists.

“We need to score more goals for starters, but we also need to take more risks. By doing that, I think those stats will improve.

“The more risks you take, the higher the chance is that you’re going to get rewarded if you keep doing it.

“You only have to look at Harry (McKirdy). He always backed himself to score goals. He wouldn’t always score, but he’d score more than others just through pure persistence.”