DANNY Wilson is determined to unearth ‘the next Gordon Greer’, after revealing he regrets the sale of Town’s captain and defensive linchpin.

Greer departed the County Ground for League One rivals Brighton over the summer in a deal worth around £250,000, and without him Swindon have struggled at the back, conceding six goals in just three games this season.

Boss Wilson believes he finds himself in a similar scenario to when he first took over at the club in December 2008, and is confident history can repeat itself in recruiting another centre-back and leader.

“There’s a regret, of course there’s regrets,” he told the Advertiser about the sale of Greer.

“Let’s be quite honest though, we were found in a position where we couldn’t do much about it.

“It’s history now though and the one thing I never do is bemoan the past.

“You’ve got to look forward. It’s gone, it’s happened and we’ve got to move on.

“We’re in a similar position to what we were when I first came to the club and we needed that position. We got one, we got a very good one, and now we either need to identify another Gordon or get the best out of the boys who are here at this moment in time.

“And if that doesn’t happen then we do really have to go out and get the type of person that we got when we brought Gordon in.”

Wilson has made no secret of his desire to recruit a new central defender as a priority, but the Advertiser understands Town have hit a stumbling block with one of their targets.

The centre-back in question is contracted to a Championship club and was an unused substitute at the weekend, but his club have made it clear they cannot let the player leave at the moment.

So Swindon are unlikely to have any fresh faces in before the weekend’s League One fixture against Brentford, but that gives Wilson’s current crop of players, including the likely-to-be-recalled Sean Morrison, a chance to impress.

“I don’t think we will have one in for Saturday, and whether we change things around we will have to wait and see,” said the manager.

“People have to be kept on their toes, and if we have to change people around then so be it. Whoever it is who comes in, it is up to them to come up to the plate.

“Sean is a great prospect and maybe this is the time for him to throw a few markers down for himself.

“He has all the attributes you need and to boot he is only 19-years-old. With us conceding goals I would hope he is champing at the bit and see it as an opportunity to be in contention.”