SWINDON Town manager John Sheridan says the club’s player recruitment has not been good enough all season as the County Ground outfit face an immediate return to League Two.

Less than 12 months after being crowned champions of the fourth tier on a points-per-game basis, defeat to Rochdale in midweek left Swindon four points off safety with just five games remaining.

Victory over the division’s bottom side would have kept Town in the hunt for a successful survival bid – and the club may yet stay up – but a lacklustre performance against Rochdale did Sheridan’s men no favours in trying to achieve that.

Many fans questioned the starting XI on Tuesday night as well as the decision to send centre-back Tom Broadbent up front when Sheridan had strikers, Tyrese Omotoye and Tyler Smith on the bench.

Asked what that call said about the club’s wider recruitment, Sheridan said: “I’m not going to go on too much about the recruitment.

“I’ve brought loans in – I haven’t really signed any players – but it’s dragged on from before I came to since I’ve been here.

“It’s not been good enough – I haven’t done it well enough, the players haven’t done it well enough, and it wasn’t good enough before I came.

“It goes back to the first game of the season, the goals we concede. It’s about people getting a grip of each other on the pitch, and people bossing each other and demanding from each other.

“It is as simple as that, and if we had it more we’d be in a much better place.”

On Saturday evening, Swindon face the second of their relegation six-pointers in the space of a few days as they travel to the new-and-improved Plough Lane to take on AFC Wimbledon.

Sheridan admits he is under no illusions as to the severity of Town’s situation, but stated he would do his utmost to motivate the squad sufficiently in time for Saturday.

He said: “While there are still five games left, I’m going to have to try and stay as positive as I can and pick the players up as much as I can.

“I’m down in the dumps because I’m letting a lot of people down. I always look at myself – am I picking the right team, am I making the right decisions?

“The manager has always got to look at himself, and I expect every Swindon fan to look at me because I’m letting them all down.

“I’m not going to hide that fact, I’ve been there before, and it’s nowhere near good enough.”