PHIL Brown is determined to give Swindon Town’s existing defenders his full backing despite continuing to scour the loan market for further reinforcements at the back.

The County Ground manager’s hunt for new back-line faces has been well documented since the closure of the transfer window earlier this month and Town’s leaky start to the League Two campaign, which has seen them ship 11 goals in five matches and 16 in seven competitive fixtures to date.

Brown’s window of opportunity is closing rapidly, with the loan deadline looming on Friday, but the manager is keen that the attributes of the players already at his disposal are not forgotten despite the search.

Skipper Olly Lancashire and on-loan Sid Nelson emerged bloodied, bruised but with plaudits from Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Forest Green Rovers, while Dion Conroy and youngster Joe Romanski have also featured already this term.

And the manager is determined to show faith in his current resources as he sets about trying to improve his side’s performances at the back.

“I’m desperate to bring a centre-half in,’’ admitted Brown. “But if players work hard enough and show enough desire to keep their shirt, then they will keep their shirt.

“I’m not bothered by people who think that ‘he’s a better player than him’. It’s up to the two centre-halves to keep their shirts or give them away. I know Dion Conroy is a very capable number five waiting to come in.’’

The three-match suspensions of James Dunne and Toumani Diagouraga after their red cards at Crawley Town last week further thinned out Town’s resources in a defensive sense and Brown added: “I’d still like to bring another one in. We’ll be okay (if another defender isn’t added to the squad).

“The two suspensions have done us no favours, but that’s from an experience point of view rather than a creativity point of view.”