Furious manager John Sheridan said his player had "let themselves down" as the club's play-off hopes slipped away at Swindon.

The hosts edged a fairly even first half but drew away in the second as Lee Peacock and Simon Cox (2) netted in a 3-0 win.

Injury-ravaged Athletic offered little in reply against a Swindon side struggling at the other end of the table, and Sheridan was obviously pained by a missed opportunity post-match.

He explained: "That was very frustrating considering what was at stake -- a chance to put pressure on the teams at the top.

"The game was there for the taking at half time but the second half was embarrassing; I apologise to the supporters because we were shocking.

"We came out and not one player from one to eleven was at the races.  We just didn't get going in the second half.

"It was all wrong today, from not keeping the ball and holding it up front to defending poorly."

Sheridan also touched on one his key themes -- consistency -- once again, and was puzzled by his team's response after steamrollering Huddersfield last weekend.

"Players that play brilliantly last week and then play this way this week are no good to me, and there's that magic word again -- consistency," he said.

"I want to assemble a team and a squad to get us out of this division next year, and I think some of them have been in a comfort zone because they know they'll be playing every week."

Sheridan added: "To be fair, we've done well taking into account the injuries we've had, but I don't like playing poorly and not looking like a decent team.

"I don't mind losing as long as we do things in the right way -- but in the second half we were shocking today."