NATHAN Thompson’s injury severely stunted Town’s tactical approach against Southend as they were forced to push square pegs into round holes.

In the first half, boss Mark Cooper opted to change from the 4-3-3 Town started with to their Plan B: the 3-5-2.

Jordan Williams was moved back into defence, where he showed himself to be far more comfortable, and Drissa Traore came on to put in a great performance in front of the back line.

The former Notts County man has great awareness for where his teammates are and the ability to play under pressure. He should be a regular feature in the first XI from now on.

However, further forward, Nathan Byrne was restricted in his attacking instincts as a result of being asked to play wing-back. Barring a few shots from distance, Town created little in a drab opening 45 minutes.

Defensively, things were not great either. Byrne remained high up the pitch, which allowed the Shrimpers to get in crosses too easily from their left-hand side.

After the break, Cooper went back to the 4-3-3 and moved Raphael Branco to right-back. Branco is not a natural going forward, but as a pure defender, he is as good as anyone in the Swindon squad.

The Brazilian was able to keep Will Atkinson quiet and eventually forced Southend boss Phil Brown to replace him. Branco’s assignment on the right also meant he was able to monitor the back post as David Worrall, the home side’s biggest threat, delivered deep crosses from the Town left.

What Town gained in defensive solidity, a factor which proved crucial in gaining all three points, they lost in attacking invention.

The one nice piece of link-up between Swindon’s best attacking talents - Byrne and Fabien Robert - brought about the goal. Otherwise, going forward, the Robins were hamstrung.

Branco is tidy on the ball but not very ambitious and too often moves would break down as he tried to join in on the right.

How Cooper and Luke Williams solve the issue of Thompson’s absence next week against Sheffield United will be the question at Beversbrook this week.