SWINDON Town manager Phil Brown admits more work needs to be done on the training ground before he can describe his back four as a 'working unit'.

Brown watched his side slump to a 4-1 loss against Lincoln City at Sincil Bank on Saturday afternoon in the club’s latest League Two fixture, a result which further dented Town’s confidence levels following a four-goal thrashing to Chelsea U21s in the week.

While continuing to actively seek a central defender, Brown said his side’s mentality when it comes to defending must change soon – adding the hard work starts from the top.

He said: “Our back four aren’t a unit yet, but then it’s not just about the back four.

“It’s not even back five or six. It’s 11 up and 11 back.

“Even though you are providing a cross on the right or left-hand side, the players’ mentality of the changeover and transition of the ball should already be in place with half of your players.

“We didn’t do that often enough on Saturday (against Lincoln).”

The Town boss revealed he has been in contact with four clubs since Saturday’s defeat, but continued to emphasise that he won’t add a player to his squad for the sake of it.

It’s apparent that Brown is also close to the limit of his wage budget, after he confirmed adding a new striker to the team would make it impossible for him to attract a defender.

“A lot of boxes have to be ticked and there’s a lot of misunderstanding out there,” said Brown.

“People ask why can’t we sign a whole host of centre halves – I’ve got a budget at my end that I have to stick to and that budget is coming to its limit.

“If I decide to bring another striker in for example then there wouldn’t be enough money for a centre-half.

“There are a number of players out there that I can engage with and take, but the specific role of a defender that knows what wearing the number two, three, four, five or six is all about is key.

“A lot of scouts are looking for those types of players.”

Conceding 10 goals in their opening three competitive fixtures of the season is of great concern to Brown, who went as far as saying he finds it hard to believe his side’s campaign has started.

A leaky defence is one problem, but additionally only one of Swindon’s four goals this season hasn’t come from the penalty spot.

Brown said: “We’re two games in and I’m looking for the mentality of a clean sheet. That isn’t just in individuals, that’s as a collective group of players.

“I know we’ve got three points, but I seriously don’t think our campaign has started yet.

“I’ve never once gone into a changing room that has had so much upheaval from last season to this season – by that I mean personal change.

“We had a wonderful first day (against Macclesfield), but that was down to the exciting part of the game.

“And on Saturday I think all four goals were avoidable.”