SWINDON Town head coach Scott Lindsey admitted the team’s fortunes have become too reliant on Jonny Williams being available for selection.
The Welshman has only missed four League Two matches this season, but three of those came in the past fortnight as the forward spent time at the World Cup in Qatar.
During that period, Swindon failed to win and scored just once in over 270 minutes of football. A particularly drab attacking display at Crawley Town last time out resulted in zero shots on target and a 2-0 defeat.
As Swindon look to snap a four-game winless run against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, Williams is set to return to the squad for the first time since a 5-2 victory away at Mansfield Town.
Asked if the team is really as reliant on Williams' ability as the past three games would suggest, Lindsey said: “Well quite clearly I think maybe we are.
“But we all probably knew how important he is to us before he went away anyway.
“He gives us that little bit of guile, that little bit of know-how, that little bit of want, will, and determination to run with the ball and to make runs off the ball – to make things happen at the top of the pitch, and we didn’t do that against Crawley, so that’s disappointing.
“We’ll welcome him back into the group as soon as he’s back and ready to go.”
Last weekend’s defeat to Crawley marked the first time all season that Swindon had lost consecutive matches.
The current four-game winless run is also the second longest streak without three points since the opening weeks of the season.
Lindsey is optimistic that, with January on the horizon, the club will not need to add hoards of new players to turn its fortunes around.
He said: “I think we’ve got a squad here which is more than capable of doing well. I’ve said it from the off, and I still believe that.
“Every team has a dip in form, and we’re probably in ours now. I have to be patient with that, and I also have to be hard-working with that – which I will be. I know the group will be as well.
“I know they’re as disappointed as I am, we’ve got some real characters in there, and we’ll be working hard to put it right.
“I don’t think we need change too much in terms of signing a load of players, I think I’ve got the right characters in there. We just have to do better.”
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