SWINDON Town boss Luke Williams felt his players could not handle the pressure when Oxford United turned up the heat in their derby clash at the County Ground.

The Robins were unable to build on Fankaty Dabo’s first-half opener and crumbled after the break to lose 2-1.

Liam Sercombe and Rob Hall scored two quick goals and any hope Swindon had of avoiding defeat disappeared when goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux was sent off in stoppage-time.

Williams, whose side sit just one point above the Sky Bet League One relegation zone, said: “We had good chances in the first half to put the game out of sight.

“In the second half we stopped. We didn’t match Oxford in the middle of the pitch.

“Once the pressure rises too many people aren’t able to concentrate and keep their discipline.

“They play too much within themselves.

“It looks to me all the time the mental side is our biggest problem.”

While Williams felt aggrieved over the dismissal, he was critical of Vigouroux, who was also sent off against the U’s earlier in the season.

He said: “It is very hard for me to see why it is a straight red.

“There are plenty of bodies there, it looks like Lloyd Jones is covering behind.

“Getting sent off twice in this fixture it looks like there is an obvious link there with this type of atmosphere with the fans behind the goal making so much noise.”