Ian Holloway beamed with pride at Swindon’s performance to beat his former employers Grimsby 4-0 at Blundell Park.
It was a Good Friday delight for the Robins on their travels as four different goalscorers helped them win their fourth game on the bounce.
Tom Nichols and Ollie Clarke scored in the first half, with Kabongo Tshimanga and young substitute Botan Ameen – with his first league goal – confirming the victory after the break.
Holloway felt everyone in his team played their part in a complete performance on the road against a play-off contender in Grimsby.
“We were absolutely fantastic from start to finish,” said Holloway.
“We knew what we needed to do in terms of getting on top of their midfield and every one of my lads was outstanding.
“That is the level we need to get to week in, week out.
“I don’t think anyone dropped below an eight (out of 10), which is very rare that everyone is on an eight or a nine with their performance.
“We needed to be at that level so I’m absolutely delighted, and that it is eight goals in our last two games away from home.
“I asked them to improve our away form, and what a wonderful day to do it on.”
Four-nil wins at Fleetwood and the Mariners have sandwiched Swindon’s wild 5-4 home success against promotion-chasing Bradford.
Holloway continued: “I’m delighted with all the staff and what we told the players in the week, because there was stuff in there where they would’ve got out had we not told them about it.
“That’s three wins in a row for us now and there aren’t many teams out there that are scoring more than us this season, which is something I’m proud of.”
The Mariners will have to bounce back quickly for their Easter Monday clash away at league leaders Port Vale, with Colchester going ahead of David Artell’s side and into the final play-off spot on goal difference.
“We didn’t play very well,” admitted Artell. “Everything we tried did not come off; overall, it was a sub-par performance.
“Tactically, we weren’t great, and that is on me, but sometimes you have to take your medicine.
“We’re allowed to have a bad day, and sometimes you have to put it into perspective and still see we’re in a great position.
“We don’t want to have a day like this, especially in front of a terrific home support, but we’ve got to make sure that we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
“This one performance won’t define our season, and I’m grateful to the fans that stayed until the end to clap the players off because they needed it.
“We’ll lick our wounds quickly and make sure that we’re in a much better place psychologically for Port Vale.”
