Wellens talks playoffs, team spirit, and promotion ahead of Carlisle clash

SWINDON TOWN travel to Carlisle United this weekend seeking to close in on the playoffs with their 100% away record still in tact. We put together our five main talking points ahead of the match as Total Sport Swindon's Ryan Walker spoke to Richie Wellens at the County Ground earlier this afternoon.

Wellens delighted with County Ground agreement

The big news this week was that Swindon Town would be purchasing the County Ground in a deal with the STFC Supporters Trust, and when asked for his thoughts on the proposed agreement, the manager admitted he was excited by the prospect,

“It’s a brilliant idea and it’s happened now so that’s fantastic,” said Wellens.

“This ground should belong to the club and the supporters and it gives people involved the opportunity to invest in the land around it.

“The main thing is not just being one day a week or one day every two weeks when you’ve got a home game, we can now make revenue all year round and that’s important because other clubs have gone that way and are making a lot of money and they can put more money into the football side of things,” he added.

“It’s a good step forward and in terms of Swindon as a community, the football club is a massive part of that and it’s right we own our own ground,” Wellens said.

Pride in points but no pressure on Swindon

Having joined the club in November as Swindon’s first-team manager, Richie Wellens has helped take Swindon from mid-table mediocrity to playoff contenders. 

However, the 38-year-old explained that his points per game record. 1.61. is the most satisfying aspect of his managerial campaign so far whilst also insisting that there is no pressure on Swindon ahead of their upcoming match. 

“The points per game has been the most satisfying because if you had offered me that after just being beat four-nil I would’ve snapped your hand off,” stated Wellens.

“The players have responded well and took on board loads of stuff. In terms of Saturday, it’s not really an important game. John Sheridan has left them and a lot of their loan players have returned in January.

“They’ve got some really good players and have got to the heights of fourth at one stage. We’re going to go there looking to win the game and we’ve got nothing to lose,” he said.

“Where we’ve come from we’ve never been in the playoffs. I don’t think at any point in the season we’ve said we can get promoted whereas Carlisle are different.

“They’ve been in the playoffs and aiming for the automatic spots now they’re competing with other teas to stay in it so they are under pressure whereas we can go there, try and get three points and see where we can go from there,” said Wellens.

Playoffs not a guarantee despite an easy run-in

A weekend fixture against Carlisle United sees Swindon face a team positioned above them in the league standings for a third consecutive match. But a winnable run-in towards the end of the season has fans excited at the prospect of promotion. Wellens, however, is remaining on the side of caution. 

“In the past couple of months we’ve played MK Dons who are fourth in the league, Tranmere who are in the playoffs, so it doesn’t matter,” said the manager.

“Our worst performance since I’ve been manager is probably Crawley and that was one of our easiest matches and we probably should’ve won the game.

“If the players don’t turn up with the right attitude then it doesn’t matter who you’re playing you’ll probably lose. I know what you’re saying if we can come unscathed in the next couple of games then the fixture list looks healthy,” he added. 

“If we lose this weekend and Carlisle beat us then the gap could be back to seven or eight points and it’s tough to close.

“It’s not nice to be chasing because you’re always under pressure to win. Let’s just enjoy it see where the next couple of months take us and come the end of the season the pressure for us will start if we’re in for a real shot with one or two games left,” said Wellens.

Wellens trusts players to do the right thing

A 100% away win record since the turn of the year means confidence levels are high within the STFC camp ahead of the weekends match against Carlisle. And Wellens revealed how good team spirit off the pitch is only helping the clubs results on it. 

“There are three or four jokers in the squad and you let them get on with it and run the dressing room and I leave them to it,” said Wellens.

“I don’t interfere or ever go into their dressing room or interfere with the team spirit. If they want to have nights out or days out then I’m happy with that because once you step away from the football club you can’t be a parent and you have to trust them.

“We have certain days where we give them a day off and give them a GPS to work at home or the local gym and every time they’ve come back and done it great. 

“As long as the trust is there I’m happy to go with it, it’s when they cross the line I might have to step in,”

Jermaine McGlashan departs for Wrexham

Making only eight appearances under Wellens since taking over as manager of Swindon has seen 30-year-old Jermaine McGlashan fall down the pecking order at SN1. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the manager revealed that McGlashan has left Swindon on-loan for National League Wrexham until the end of the season.

“Jermaine McGlashan has gone on-loan to Wrexham today so that’s a good move for him,” said Wellens.

“I always think for footballers if they train all week then they should be playing at the weekend so he has that opportunity to do it.

“It helps the wages as well and Jermaine has been a little bit unfortunate with the way that I play he hasn’t quite fitted into it,” he added. 

“His only real chance was in my first game against Carlisle where I played him wing-back and it didn’t really work for him.

“He’s done great coming on as a sub at times but at his age, he’ll be looking for a new contract in the summer so I want to give him the best opportunity to find a new club,” he said.