WHILE their football careers may be in their infancy, Swindon Town manager Phil Brown has praised the club’s loan stars after a successful weekend.

Brown has four players on temporary assignment at the Energy Check County Ground, with Elijah Adebayo and Steven Alzate arriving from Premier League Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion.

The impressive defensive duo of Sid Nelson and Luke Woolfenden have also arrived on secondment since the summer, from Championship sides Millwall and Ipswich Town.

All four players featured heavily in Swindon’s 3-0 win over in-form Yeovil Town on Saturday and contributed at both ends of the pitch, with Alzate and Adebayo notching goals, while Nelson and Woolfenden collected the club’s third clean sheet in their last four games.

Brown was quick to praise the work of the youngsters, in particular Alzate, who got his first goal for the club at the weekend.

“Steven Alzate is a talent but what allowed him to play was the presence of Toumani Diagouraga,” said Brown.

“Toumani is ever-present in midfield, sitting in front of that back four. He brought a calmness to the team and an assuredness to the team.

“Last weekend, we didn’t have anything in the final third, whereas this weekend we had plenty in the final third.

“We said to the players at half-time to stop passing when there was a chance to shoot because in those conditions, anything can happen – it could spin off the goalkeeper and then it’s a tap-in for Marc Richards.

“Steven didn’t work the goalkeeper, he worked the goal and hit the bottom corner.

“I am delighted for him. He is certainly an assist man. He is a threat in the final third, but to get goals to his game, I am sure delighted Brighton will be delighted with seeing him on the scoresheet.”

Fulham striker Adebayo has quickly established himself as a crucial member of Town’s frontline with 12 appearances so far this term.

While the striker is more familiar with a central role, Brown says the 21-year-old has been excellent further to the left, despite that not being his favoured position.

“Elijah was excellent down the left-hand side as a six-foot-three quick, athletic striker, who doesn’t particularly want to play there,” he added.

“Elijah was a constant thorn in the right-back’s side and I wouldn’t have wanted to play at right-back against Elijah on Saturday, which is testament to him.”