SWINDON Town head coach Scott Lindsey said he was “not at all” hurt by a 2-0 pre-season defeat against Swindon Supermarine and claimed his side extracted “everything they needed to” from the contest.

Town – operating with a different side in each half – dominated the ball and the chances at the Webbswood Stadium but ultimately suffered a rare reverse at the hands of Marine courtesy of a goal from debutant James Harding and a late strike from a trialist.

READ: Swindon Town lose 2-0 to Swindon Supermarine in pre-season friendly.

Following a victory in Town’s opening pre-season fixture, the 1000-plus that turned up on Saturday hoped to see that record extended into a second game.

However, Lindsey stressed that the fixture was simply about improving his players’ fitness and results were a distant second at this point in the season.

Asked how hurt Lindsey was by the result, Town’s boss said: “Not at all.

“We looked at the work we’ve put in this week, and we knew the kinds of numbers – in terms of distance covered – that we wanted to see. So we picked two teams to play 45 minutes each.

“The players were fatigued coming into the game, and that’s what we want in pre-season. We want players to come into these games fatigued because therefore we get more out of the game. That was certainly the case against Marine.

“There’s nothing tactical or technical to think about at this stage – it’s too early for that. But we got out of it exactly what we needed so I’m pleased.”

Despite Lindsey stating there was no overwhelming cause for concern post-match, Town’s noticeable off-day in front of goal – combined with a handful of defensive errors – led to a defeat which the head coach will clearly not want to see repeated against Woking on Tuesday night.

The Town boss insisted he would not over-think the early loss and maintained his philosophical view surrounding the game simply serving its purpose.

Lindsey said: “When you are fatigued, mistakes happen, and that happened against Marine.

“Of course you don’t like them, but it’s too early to go overboard with anything really so there’s no real negatives to go into.

“In terms of positives, all of the players got exactly the distance in their legs that we wanted them to cover.

“We’re really pleased, from a sport-science point of view, about the output the players have given – not just in the game but over the week leading up to it as well.”

Town return to pre-season action on Tuesday night away at Woking, with a 7pm kick-off at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.