EXTREME disappointment and low confidence were felt by Swindon Town’s players on Saturday following the club’s heaviest League Two defeat of the season at home to Carlisle United, according to player-coach Matt Taylor.

Taylor adopted a new role under new boss Richie Wellens’ fresh take on Town’s starting XI by slotting behind midfielders Steven Alzate and James Dunne in a holding role in the centre of the pitch.

While the hosts dictated the game’s opening 40 minutes, John Sheridan’s Carlisle took inspiration from Ashley Nadesan’s first-half strike to put three more past Lawrence Vigouroux in the second period.

And those three second-half goals have left Town’s players low on confidence, with former Premier League star Taylor choosing not to describe the dressing room atmosphere when asked.

He said: “I feel extreme disappointment.

"In terms of possession, we have used the ball well. We have made individual errors and ultimately been punished for them.

“I think the momentum towards the end of the first half was with us and we had a good chat at half-time and we were pleased with the way things were going, albeit we were 1-0 down.

“But so soon after the restart, we conceded and lost that momentum.

“We are a team that ultimately is low on confidence, so not scoring with the chances we have had has probably made us retreat more so than we should have.

“But there are no excuses for today’s performance – we weren’t good enough.”

A long week now awaits Wellens’ squad before Swindon attempt to secure what would be only their second league win in two months when facing Port Vale away from home next Saturday.

Admitting that Wellens’ ideas and traits will take time to get across to his men, Taylor threw his backing behind the 38-year-old and rallied Town’s troops to bounce back under the new boss.

He added: “We have a week now where we need to work on lots of things.

"We will review the performance, individually and collectively, and try and move forwards from it.

“Football management is an extremely difficult job. The new manager has come in and the ideas he is trying to get across to us will take time.

“It is as simple as that. It is a new group for him, so he needs as much help as humanely possible.

“As players, let’s take responsibility for the errors that we have made.

“At times, especially in what I class as a man’s game, you need to hold your hands up and say ‘I made a mistake’ and we will learn from it.

“We can’t change the performance. What we can do is change the next performance and digesting what’s happened today will be tough.

“And hopefully it will be tough for my team-mates. I know it will be tough for me.”