Swindon Town boss Phil Brown accuses some of the squad of not being committed to the cause

A 1-0 home defeat against Grimsby Town mathematically confirmed Swindon Town will be a League Two club next season, and manager Phil Brown took aim at some of his players in the aftermath of the defeat.

Town lost courtesy of a 45th-minute penalty, which garnered controversy for being a soft decision, but the hosts were not able to recover from the setback and, due to results elsewhere, are now seven points off the top seven with just two matches remaining.

Brown was only appointed in early March, but has managed just one win in his eight games, drawing another four, and the Grimsby defeat was Town's second on the bounce.

The boss, who is only on a deal until the end of the season, lamented the lack of time he has had with this Swindon team, and accused some of them, without naming names, of not being fully committed to the cause. 

Brown said: "I don't think I've had enough time to work with these players to turn them around. Would I have picked these players? Maybe 60, 70, 80 per cent I could have probably worked with, but the ones I wouldn't have worked with won't put their heads in, won't put their bodies on the line [and] won't wear the badge with pride.

"That's all, I think, Swindon Town supporters want to see."

Boss Brown was then asked if some members of the playing staff had not shown a sufficient level of application to which he replied '100 per cent'.

He continued: "At the end of the season, if I'm still here, you'll know [who those players are].

"Until we get players that understand what it takes to play for Swindon Town Football Club, then we will still be a [League Two] club next year. The culture has to change. Whether that's me or someone else, the mentality has to change.

"When you're a professional, you should be doing it for a reason - to win a game of football at the end of the week and I don't think enough of us do that, I don't think enough of us sacrifice out lives for the 10 or 15 years that a normal football career is, and the more people that I get in next year if I'm here, then the more of a better chance we'll have."

Swindon are now forced to endure two dead-rubber matches, starting with Colchester away next Saturday before closing off the season with already-promoted Accrington at home.