Luke Williams believes "every Swindon Town fan should be very proud of Conor Thomas"

Swindon Town head coach Luke Williams spoke very highly of his match-winner, Conor Thomas, following Swindon's 1-0 victory over Millwall.

Millwall's 16-match unbeaten run, that stretched back to mid-December, was ended by a Swindon side that could beat a Millwall outfit that had beaten Premier League opposition Bournemouth, Watford and Leicester in the FA Cup.

Thomas scored his first goal since January 2012 with a calm, collected finish in the fifth minute of four added-on at the end of the second half to keep Swindon's slim chances of survival alive for a bit longer.

At the full-time whistle, Thomas' head coach, Luke Williams was full of admiration for the 23-year-old - not just for his performance, but for his all-round professionalism since he signed for Swindon.

"We just spoke in the dressing room briefly and, I think, every single Swindon Town fan should be aware that they should be very proud of Conor," Williams began.

"It's been a difficult season for Conor and every single day he is immaculate. He gives everything in training, he's bright, he listens to every single thing, he'll know everybody's job even if he's not starting the game.

"He's in early and he looks after himself fantastically well and he so deserves that goal."

Thomas scoring the winner was perhaps written by the footballing Gods, considering that the man signed from Coventry in the summer was not meant to be playing in the first place.

Ben Gladwin was due to start the match but he aggravated a knee problem in the pre-match warm-up and Thomas was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for the Queens Park Rangers loanee.

"He's taken an opportunity with both hands," Williams continued.

"That's exactly what you want from all of your players - for them to be ready and for them to respect the fact that it's a squad game and when an opportunity presents itself, you want them to take it.

"If they don't take the opportunity you at least want them to be ready and to have given everything.

"Sometimes you have a situation where players go in and they say 'oh, I haven't played for a while and I wasn't ready and I haven't been training properly because I haven't been playing' - it's the wrong attitude to have.

"Like I say, Conor is the complete opposite to that and I'm so pleased for him."

Later on in the press conference, Williams told Total Sport why he picked Thomas to replace Gladwin as opposed to more offensive players or those more accomplished to playing on the wing, such as James Brophy.

"Conor has been so consistent on his work on a day-to-day (basis). I thought he was a player that was ready for this fight, I knew today could be very difficult and I felt like Conor would be able to stand up to everything that could be thrown at him."