RICHIE Wellens confirmed no Swindon Town player was lost to complacency against Colchester United on Tuesday night.

Instead, running stats revealed that Town’s work rate saw them cover more distance than normal for an average League Two game this season.

Taking two steps back to move three steps forward is therefore the 39-year-old’s latest philosophy ahead of this afternoon’s trip to Cambridge.

Wellens has stressed the importance of players retaining their instructed position, and is therefore seeking a calming performance at the Abbey Stadium this afternoon.

He said: “No one was lost to complacency - I can confirm that.

“We looked at the running stats, and we actually covered more ground than we usually do. That’s because players weren’t sticking to the positions we wanted them to so we could hurt Colchester.

“Players are trying too hard to get back into the game too quickly. Sometimes when you try too hard, you end up running too much and not with any danger.

“We’re not panicking.

"We just need to get back to what we’re good at.”

Morale on the training ground certainly hasn’t changed off the back of Town’s heaviest league defeat of the season.

Midfielder Danny Rose alluded to the importance of responding brightly in training following Tuesday night’s loss.

And Wellens underlined Rose’s comments – adding that there is no need for a knee-jerk reaction following one sub-standard performance.

“We’re not going to make knee-jerk reactions, we don’t need to do that,” said Wellens.

“When you have a setback, it provides you with a realisation of where we are at. We’re still a work in progress, and we will still continue to get better.

“But we will hit bumps along the way. The main thing for me is realising what makes us a good team.

“What have we done to cause opposition teams problems? We came away from what we’re good at in the second half on Tuesday.

“We were good for the first half-an-hour before things dropped in the last 10 or 15 minutes.

“But the first nine games have been good.”