SCUNTHORPE United manager Graham Alexander believes Swindon Town never gave up on survival before suffering a 2-1 defeat at home to the Iron.

Swindon were handed an early blow when Murray Wallace bundled the ball past Lawrence Vigouroux in the sixth minute of the game.

The home fans made it abundantly clear how they felt as the half-time whistle was met by a chorus boos as their team trailed 1-0.

The second half showed little signs of improvement as Sam Mantom doubled the visitor’s lead shortly after being introduced to the game with 20 minutes left to play.

However, there was something to cheer about when Rohan Ince grabbed a late goal as Luke Williams’ side mounted one final push to turn the game around.

It wasn’t to be, but opposition manager Alexander praised the hosts for never losing faith during Scunthorpe’s first every victory at the County Ground, which rubber stamped their relegation to League Two.

“In the last 10 or 15 minutes, they (Swindon) were committing bodies forward and they could gamble up top because they have nothing to lose,” said the former Scotland international.

“It becomes a difficult game for us to manage and defend. They never gave it up for their manager and for their club.

“They fought right until the end to stay in this division.”

While he admits Swindon never lost faith, he was quick to point out his promotion-chasers put on a professional display in Wiltshire.

“We came here for three points and we got them. We would have liked to have seen out the last five or 10 minutes a little bit more comfortably,” added Alexander.

“It was a strange game with Swindon because of their position, the atmosphere and the ground. I thought it affected our game a little bit.

“But the players came in and did a professional job.

“Obviously the team are disappointed to concede. We know we could have and probably should have scored more goals.

“We were a little careless with some of the opportunities we had but we are delighted to come here and get three points.

“We want to finish the regular season on a high so if we manage to win next week, we have certainly done that.”