LOUIS Reed will have to continue to “be patient” as the wait for his next Swindon Town start continues, according to head coach Scott Lindsey.

The midfielder has gone seven League Two games without a start, only beginning a game for the Robins in their FA Cup defeat against Stockport County at the start of this month.

Reed was last named in Lindsey’s starting XI in a 1-0 win at home to Newport County on October 4 and has played just 35 minutes of League Two football since.

The 24-year-old was dropped after a loss of form and was replaced by Saidou Khan. The Gambian initially struggled himself, and – according to player-ratings data provided by whoscored.com – failed to score above 6.35 over a six-game period before only dropping below 6.5 in the next half-dozen contests.

Lindsey insists that his regular midfield trio’s performances of late make it incredibly difficult to swap one of them out in favour of a player who, last season, won a handful of club awards.

Asked what more Reed could do to force his way back into the Town boss’ thinking, Lindsey said: “First of all, it’s tough when you’ve got a midfield three in there who are all playing well.

“I thought [Ben] Gladwin was excellent on Saturday, I thought Saidou was very good, and you’re always hoping – with [Ronan] Darcy being such a livewire – that he can create you something.

“All the time that they’re doing OK, it’s difficult for me to make that decision and make that change.

“I think it’s just a case of Reed being patient, and I’m sure he will get his chance back in the team. I know he will take that chance because he’s a good footballer.”

Reed’s late introduction against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday failed to prevent defeat for Swindon, who now have a weekend off due to their FA Cup first-round exit.

Lindsey is disappointed his team are not able to recover from their shock loss quickly and admitted he would have liked another fixture sooner rather than later.

He said: “This break isn’t a good thing. We want to get back on the horse as quickly as possible.

“I think, after a loss, you can’t wait to get back out there and put it right as soon as possible.

“It’s disappointing that we’ve lost against Crewe and now we’ve got to wait two weeks until we play again, but it is what it is.

“We will use the time efficiently and make sure that when we play again we will be ready to try and get three points.”