SWINDON Town head coach Luke Williams insists that he and his team are ‘not hiding’ after slipping to their second successive home defeat at the hands of Northampton Town tonight.

Seven days after being beaten 2-1 at the County Ground by near neighbours Bristol Rovers, the in-form Cobblers stuck the boot in on Tuesday as they ran out 3-1 winners to leave Williams’ men with that sinking feeling on home turf once again.

Despite the bitter sting of defeat, the Swindon chief is refusing to let his optimism wilt and says that his team will continue to walk tall as they look to haul themselves away from their new 18th-placed position in the League One table.

“It’s pressure all the time; home or away,” Williams told the local media.

“I was here the season we went to Wembley.

“I think the pressure of being top of the league was tremendous. I remember the pressure (of) last year – being 22nd at one point – was tremendous.

“So there’s always pressure but we signed up for it. We know what to expect.

“We’re not going anywhere. We’re not hiding. We’re still very optimistic for the season.

“I think the performance allowed me to be more calm and optimistic for the next game.

“I think we performed very well at the weekend (a 2-0 win over Oldham Athletic) and tonight, we didn’t defend well (at) key moments in the game.

“I think in the flow of the game in general, we looked like a football team that could create chances so it’s allowed me to feel a little calmer.

“I wasn’t so calm in the changing rooms, probably, but I’m still optimistic. We’re still very ambitious and we know that we know that we’re small margins away from being a very good football team.”

After winning League Two last season, Northampton have only suffered two defeats in their last 43 league games and Williams admitted that his team could learn a thing or two from their conquerors.

He added: “We got what we deserved unfortunately, in the end, because we didn’t defend with conviction, with desire to make a tackle.

“(It was) too easy to beat people, too easy to find space inside our box.

“Northampton were the opposite – they were fantastic in the box, they were aggressive.

(“It was) very, very difficult to get past somebody (and) very difficult to find any space inside the box, and we need to learn from them because they’re a fantastic team.

“They make it incredibly difficult for you to score and then, when they get a chance against us, they take it – it’s easy.”