THE UNPALATABLE truth is that Swindon Town are not as good as they think they are, writes Danny Hall.

Unless the 15 or so times I have seen them home and away this season are unrepresentative then it is a myth that they are ‘the best footballing side in League One’.

Again on Saturday their limitations were cruelly exposed, especially in the second half against MK Dons, whose 3-0 win helped them leapfrog Town into third place in the division.

There were no excuses, no ifs nor buts. The scoreline could have been worse but for a benevolent ref who didn’t give the Dons a penalty in the first half for a foul on the impressive Grigg or hand out a second yellow to Town captain Nathan Thompson. A man-of-the-match performance from keeper Wes Foderingham also limited the damage.

He was the one Swindon player who played to his full potential.

The Dons matched Swindon technically; the difference was in the visitors’ superior work rate across all positions.

Ben Gladwin and John Swift are both skilful footballers but neither put in ‘a shift’, leaving an even greater burden on the likes of Massimo Luongo. I don’t think you can afford to play both Gladwin and Swift in the same XI.

When the Dons attacked they did so with greater potency and in greater numbers than did Town. While in defence they had players who also went the extra yard – Kyle McFadzean’s late lunge as Michael Smith was about to pull the trigger and his diving header to deny Luongo being two examples.

Jordan Turnbull toiled honestly in the Town defence but in the over-crowded six-man midfield the game passed his Southampton colleague Jack Stephens by.

Stephens was another whose tank was probably not on empty when he left the field.

In an entertaining end-to-end first half, which somehow finished goalless, the Dons edged it on points, although Town had their moments, especially down the left flank through Gladwin.

Wolves loanee Saul Ricketts, after a shaky start, had a reasonable debut until being sacrificed when we had gone behind.

He was charged with covering the runs of the returning Spurs-bound Dele Alli and did a fair job, though it was his shove that should have resulted in a first half pen.

But from the start of the second period Town were on the back foot and lacked the will and nous to salvage something from the game.

The defeat makes the prospect of automatic promotion all the more difficult and takes a little of the spice out of the game against runaway leaders Bristol City on Tuesday.

They will be fired up enough owing to the perceived injustices on their visit to the County Ground earlier in the season.