Gavin Gunning said that Swindon Town demonstrated the character in the squad to earn a 1-1 draw at home against Gillingham.

Grant Hall's early red card for a bad tackle left Swindon behind the eight ball, with Tim Dieng soon tapping in to give the visitors a lead that looked like a long way to climb back from.

Ian Holloway's frantic actions from the stand went along with a spirited second-half performance from his team and Harry Smith did what he does best to score a towering last-second header.

Gunning was very pleased with the way that the side coped with being down to ten men for much of the match and showed the heart to come through at the end.

He said: "The performance was all heart, we played some half-decent stuff at times but when you go down to ten men it is always going to be tough.

"We had ten men for basically 90 minutes when you add on the injury time and the boys dug in.

"They didn't really have many big chances, I didn't feel, which is unusual when you are playing with an extra player.

"You can only be happy for the boys because I think they showed great character, especially considering it was coming off the back of two defeats.

"We showed a lot of character and then Harry has been dominant at the back stick.

"As a player, you have got to show that grit and determination and at times this season we haven't really shown that.

"When you are in the heat of battle, you have got to put your shield up and be aggressive and consistent with your behaviours.

"That is not the easiest thing to do sometimes but today I think that we showed a different side to us today with much bigger character."

Gunning was thrust into interim charge of the team after Mark Kennedy departed the club on Friday and despite not having long to prepare, he said he was able to make a few changes.

He said: "[How long did you have to know you were taking the game?] Not long.

"We had a couple of little changes and then when Ian [Holloway] was announced, I spoke to him.

"He didn't really want to get involved in match prep but I just asked him what he was looking for and it was good to chat with him and get his opinion on what was going on.

"That picture looks really positive and I think he is going to improve the players technically and mentally."

The sending off of Hall after just nine minutes was a big moment in the game but Gunning said he did not have the best view of the incident.

He said: "The red card, I didn't really see it, to be honest, my eyesight is terrible, I need glasses.

"When it is that far away from me I can't really see it but sometimes you get sent off for that and sometimes you don't."