Your Total Guide To sport

Luke Williams accuses some of his players of not being committed to Swindon Town relegation fight

Swindon Town head coach Luke Williams has tore into a few of his players' following the club's 4-2 defeat at home to Sheffield United.

Following tonight's (Tuesday) result, Swindon are 22nd in League One and seven points adrift of safety.

Ahead of kick-off, Williams named Will Henry in goal instead of regular number one Lawrence Vigouroux while players such as James Brophy and Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill were also left out of the matchday 18.

It initially seemed like Vigouroux was told to stay at home due to a broken thumb that Williams said, after the Port Vale loss, the Chilean goalkeeper had but Williams revealed at full-time on Tuesday that the ex-Liverpool and Tottenham stopper is part of a section of players not willing to fight for the club in their relegation fight.

When asked why there was no Vigouroux in the squad, Williams replied: "Unfortunately, in my opinion, I need to know that people are absolutely committed to this fight - we owe the fans that come here and pay money and take time and effort to come and watch us.

"We deserve, at least, to be trying every single thing. If we're not good enough, we're not good enough, it's incredibly difficult to accept but if we're not trying hard enough we don't even know if we're not good enough and it's not acceptable.

"It's not acceptable to not be one million per cent committed to the cause. That's not fair on me, to the staff, other players and most of all it's not fair to the thousands of fans that come through the turnstiles."

Williams was then asked whether the same applies to the aforementioned Brophy and Ormonde-Ottewill, to which he responded:

"Yeah. Absolutely. All the players you just mentioned I have reason, very much, to believe that they are not prepared properly for this game. We lost to the two teams below us (Chesterfield and Port Vale, the latter were below Town at the time) before this game.

"Yes, we played well at times and maybe we deserved more and we didn't get more. Then we played the team that's top (Sheffield United, tonight), that are the best team in the division at the moment and people are not looking after themselves and being prepared.

"It's not acceptable for me, and it's certainly not good enough for the Swindon fans.

"I know I come under fire a lot and there's a lot of criticism, I've got no problem with that, I understand. I'm a big boy, I understand.

"I don't read too much but people tell me sometimes it's vile - maybe it's too much but yeah, critisism, absolutely, bring it, the results are not good enough but more importantly I can at least sleep at night knowing I am giving everything. Everything I can. Always trying to think of the next thing, trying to think of the right words to the team, trying to think of the changes to the team selection, trying to put the session that is most needed.

"They can still criticise because, at the end of the day, results are not good enough and I can sleep at night because I'm giving everything. There are some in the changing rooms that will hold their head up - 'we're trying, we're trying to live our life responsibly to show the respect to the fans.

"If you're not doing that, at the moment, I need to take you out.

"There are times when players can get away with stuff, there are times when players perform on the pitch and they do something that you may question but they perform on the pitch and the team win.

"Life is not always fair and all men are not equal. Sometimes one man gets away with something and it's acceptable for him to do it and for another it's not.

"You're below the dotted line (of relegation). You may as well be bottom of the league, it makes no difference - you're bottom. Then, knuckle down, sacrifice, give up some things, give every single part of you to the cause. To not try is not fair on these people that come to watch us."

Williams then outlined that there is "a problem with people not preparing properly."

He continued: "So quickly, I turn around from Saturday, a loss, and a game against the best team, on a Tuesday night, there's no time for people to be doing anything apart from: rest, recover and focus on the game."

Ormonde-Ottewill, in particular, has had discipline problems before at Swindon following a laughing gas incident. Williams said a flat "yes" when quizzed whether he will now question the former Arsenal trainee's future at the club. The left-back is out of contract in the summer.

Williams finished his 17-and-a-half-minute-long post-match press conference by half-conceding that this has not been a new problem to deal with for him.

"Sometimes football players throughout history have done things that are not absolutely professional but, many times, they perform on the pitch and questions are not asked but on other times things are brought to your attention and I'll turn a blind eye because this player has been playing fantastic and, if this action performs well then you accept it.

"But if you're losing to Chesterfield and you're fighting in the relegation battle with, and you lose to Port Vale, then I'm hearing that people are not looking after themselves properly, then that is not acceptable.

"Neymar missed the Deportivo game because he went to his sister's birthday party. Yeah. But the only difference is that Neymar scores a penalty, a free-kick and assists the final goal in the most dramatic European Cup tie in modern history - yeah, go and have a party with your sister!

"If you're playing for Swindon and you're in the bottom four then be ready to give every single thing."

Head coach Williams also outlined that he is not yet sure whether Vigouroux, Brophy and Ormonde-Ottewill will ever play for the club again or not.

"I think it's silly for me to talk about that at the moment. Only because I was made aware of things yesterday, I dealt with it very quickly and then prepared the team for this fixture. My mind has only been on this fixture until I came to talk to you people (press). I need now to make very, very clear what I'm going to do after this."