Ian Holloway said there is no sense in Swindon Town getting caught up with self-pity despite their lowly league position ahead of Accrington Stanley.

Defeat against Milton Keynes Dons last weekend means that Swindon have amassed just 12 points from 15 League Two matches this term, the third-lowest total at this stage of a season since the introduction of a fourth division in 1958.

Swindon now approach what could be a key series of matches as they face Accrington, Morecambe, and Colchester United in successive league games, sides who are all around them in the table.

However, Holloway said there was no extra pressure on these games than any others as the only part that mattered was their final points tally at the end of the campaign.

He said: “You are checking that, it doesn't matter where anybody is right now, I believe that we will be ready to beat anybody.

“The closer you are to the bottom the harder it is because each game gets bigger but in reality, it is three points.

“I am going to try and keep them [the players] focused on what we are improving and how we are working rather than the game we are playing and who we are playing or how important that game is.

“It is about getting enough points by the end of it off of everybody, not just the ones who are around you.

“Of course, it looks better if you can beat them and keep them further away from you but for us, it is are we improving, are we looking better, are we playing in a way that people want to watch?

“That is what I am going to focus on and I believe that the results will follow if we get that right.”

Holloway added that he did not see any sense in feeling sorry about what has gone before and that it was important to do something about it now.

He said: “Whoever it is is irrelevant to me, we will look at what they do and what we should do against it and then I will be checking to see how well it works.

“I have got a hell of a job on my hands but these games aren’t bigger than anybody else – by the end of the season you need a certain amount of points and we are below that at the moment.

“Two other sides are just worse off than us but on Saturday we might be the worst if we don’t sort our lives out.

“That doesn’t scare me either, I am thinking about 31 games time and can we work towards being like that instead of worrying about what is around us or where we are now.

“Believe me, if you are in the mess then you can smell it and we know it isn’t good enough.

“I don’t want them wallowing in it, we are not pigs; I hate it but I am accepting of it and I am going to do something about it.”