Richie Wellens wants the County Ground rocking ahead of playoff charge

RICHIE WELLENS believes that Swindon Town fans hold the secret to the clubs success as he urged supporters to get the County Ground ‘rocking’ ahead of an end of season playoff charge. Total Sport Swindon’s Ryan Walker spoke to the manager following Swindon’s midweek victory over Forest Green Rovers.

An impressive performance against Rovers on Tuesday evening saw Town secure their first home win of 2019 with Kaiyne Woolery and Theo Robinson scoring the games only goals. 

And when substituted, Robinson received a standing ovation from the home crowd, something that Wellens explained has a massive effect on a players confidence levels.

“That’s the reaction we want,” said Wellens.

“And now the supporters have got a relationship with a player, he feels ten foot tall when he comes off [and there is a standing ovation.]

“If we can get that [relationship] with all the players then we don’t know what we could eventually achieve.

“What I do know is that players at the very top level, if you sing songs about them and give them confidence then they are better players,” he added.

“But it’s tenfold more at this level. The difference between a top top player is that with confidence he’s a top player but when he’s lacking it he’s still a very very good player.

“At this level, if you're playing with confidence you’re a good player, but if he’s playing with a lack of confidence then he’s a bad player,” he said.

A successful playing career saw the now Swindon manager involved in various promotion campaigns with both Blackpool and Doncaster. And when asked about his own experiences, Wellens recalled how atmospheres at different stadiums influenced a team’s promotion chances.

“That’s what building a team is about,” stated Wellens.

“It’s about putting things in place, you have your fundamentals and you have your basics, and a framework to work from. 

“But then you have to involve the supporters. I’ve been involved in numerous promotions as a player and if you don’t have the supporters onside giving you that feel-good factor then it’s impossible to be successful,” he added.

“I’ve played away at grounds where with five or six games still to go they’re going for promotion and I’ve felt the atmosphere in the ground knowing they were going to go up because the place was rocking.”

“That’s what we’ve got to try and generate here,” said the manager.

Tuesday’s win saw Swindon Town move up to 10th position in the League Two table with just five points separating the Robins from the playoff positions. However, Wellens refused to be drawn into the hype surrounding the playoffs and insisted he is instead focusing on preparations for next season.

“I’m not interested in the playoffs and you can laugh about that but I came here and we were seventeenth in the league and the first concern was getting away from the relegation zone,” said Wellens.

“I’m not getting carried away at all and what we want to do first is build a relationship with the supporters so they know what they’re going to see week in week out.

“This club hasn’t been consistent for a number of years and we want to try and build something where we are consistent,” he said.

“To come from where we have to try and now get in the playoffs is a big ask because there are two or three teams that will go on a good run.

“We just need to think about the next game,” he added.