Wellens: Individuals must take responsibility

SWINDON TOWN continued their downward spiral of form by failing to entertain in a goalless home draw against relegation battlers Port Vale yesterday. Total Sport Swindon's Ryan Walker got the thoughts of Swindon manager, Richie Wellens, following the result.

Treacherous conditions within the County Ground made it hard for either side to take control of the match, but despite problems caused by the weather, Wellens explained how there were positives to take away from Swindon’s game but insisted Town’s attackers must improve.

“I seen a team that was trying to play, pass the ball, and be positive in really difficult conditions,” said Wellens. 

“I then seen another team who after thirty-eight seconds started trying to waste time, and I thought even the first half we passed the ball around really well up until the final third.

“Our forward players let us down and the amount of times we found players in pockets of space on the half-turn was a lot in the first half. Then we over hit the first pass and I know conditions were hard but our quality players and forward-thinking players let us down today.

“Second half we got in better situations but didn’t take them or find the final pass. There was a lack of quality in the final third,” he said.

A lack of creativity left Town supporters frustrated at Swindon’s inability to create openings in Port Vales backline and Wellens draw similarities from Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, highlighting how players must take responsibility for their own actions in key attacking areas.

“As a manager, you can’t [help players in the final third],” said Wellens.

“Even the best manager in the world, Pep Guardiola, will coach his team up until the final twenty-five yards and then it’s up to the players.

“He doesn’t coach Aguero, Silva, Sane to do certain things, you trust your players. We’ve worked out what the opposition do, picked a certain formation to get into good areas and then it’s up to the individual.

“We had no shots or crosses in the first half for all our play and that was frustrating. We kept turning away from the opportunity to shoot, cross, and put them under pressure inside the eighteen-yard box,” he added.

“We had opportunities to do that and the individuals must take responsibility upon them to show more flair and express themselves. I’m not a manager who holds players back and is very rigid, go and express yourselves.

“I picked four players today to go and express themselves and win the game and it’s not happened for them,” said Wellens.

Zero shots on target meant Swindon offered little threat to the goal of Port Vale. And when asked for his thoughts on Town’s lack of goal threat, Wellens highlighted how frustrated he has become at his players not shooting.

“I’m sick of saying it [players not shooting]. If they have a shot and it goes fifty yards over the bar and ends up in Oxford I’m not going to have a go at them,” stated Wellens.

“I see it every day in training, the lads can finish and shoot from range, but if you don’t shoot in matches then you’re never going to score them goals.

“I’ll get to work tomorrow and start hammering home the opportunities for strikers to start shooting and scoring more goals. The only way you get to the higher leagues is by scoring goals,” he said.

“It’s about being brave and there are different aspects of being brave. You want your centre-halves to defend well and win headers against the opposition strikers which is being brave. 

“You want your midfield players to be brave by getting on the ball, shouting for it and making angles. For the forward players it’s about can you run in areas where it hurts, can you keep making them runs, and I think sometimes players aren’t brave enough to keep running in them areas,” he said.

Twelve corners demonstrated Swindon’s dominance throughout, but Wellens said how Town’s failure to threaten from set-pieces was an example of how new wide players are needed at the club.

“Today isn’t going to change my mind. I’m set in my mind about what is going to be required going forward,” said Wellens.

“Do we need wide players? Definitely. You look at Kaiyne Woolery, I don’t think he’s a centre forward but we’re playing him wide because he’s quick. I don’t think Keshi [Anderson] is a wide man and he’s more about coming into little pockets and get on the half-turn.

“I just think we need a wide man for when the ball is going out wide there is someone playing quality balls into the box. I don’t think we have one at the club,” he added.

“That’s something you need in this league and you need a free-kick specialist who can keep putting balls on the money. Our set play goals are nowhere near high enough and next year we’ll need probably 30% of our goals from set plays.

“A big part of that is getting someone who can keep putting the ball on the spot,” said the manager.