Tom Clayton felt it should have been a more comfortable afternoon for Swindon

Tom Clayton felt that Swindon made their 2-1 victory over Hartlepool United at the County Ground more difficult than it needed to be. Total Sport’s Joe Acklam spoke to the defender after the game.

Jonny Williams and Luke Jephcott seemed to wrap the game up for Swindon inside 20 minutes, but a lapse in concentration allowed Clarke Odour to pull one back and make it a nervy game for Swindon.

Clayton said he thought that after the start that Town made it should have been a much easier afternoon for them.

He said: “We probably made hard work of it. We got off to a great start and that was the plan, to score early, and to get two was brilliant.

“But then we kind of gave them their goal and after it we should have put one or two away and could have had two penalties.

“On another day it is comfortable but it was just one of those days, we had plenty of attacks and Sol [Brynn] has barely had a save to make if any. But we need to kill the game off.

“It is just fine margins, to be honest, I won’t be surprised if we go somewhere and put four or five past somebody and everyone is happy.

“We have always believed we are one of the best teams in the division and we are slowly getting up there, but at the minute we are happy to just go under the radar.”

Clayton was also involved in an ongoing physical duel with Josh Umerah but was pleased with how he and Mathieu Baudry managed to handle him.

He said: “He [Umerah] was a handful, he is a big, strong boy and very physical. They played to his strengths with how direct they were.

“But I thought me and Frenchie [Baudry], apart from the goal which we probably gifted them and a half chance maybe, I felt we dealt with them and him quite well.

“I think there was a stoppage in the play when the gaffer pulled us and said if you two stay concentrated then we have won the game.

“When you play someone like that you need to know their strengths, he wanted the ball to his feet so you can be aggressive with that as if the ball goes in behind the other one sweeps up.

“It is just about communicating between me and Frenchie [Baudry], and the more we play together the more understanding will come, and staying switched on and as long as we did that I was pretty confident we would win the game.”