GOALKEEPER Matej Kovar says clean sheets are not as important to him as three points ahead of tonight’s League One clash with Northampton Town.

The Manchester United stopper has failed to keep a clean sheet in any of his first eight Town appearances while conceding 17 goals in that time.

Kovar is set to spend the season on loan at the County Ground in order to gain valuable experience of professional football while hopefully helping Richie Wellens’ men achieve their targets in League One and the FA Cup.

But the young Czech stopper says he is not desperate to record his first clean sheet of the season – instead, Kovar simply wants to see his team start winning.

Swindon head to Sixfields tonight to take on fellow early-season strugglers, Northampton looking for a turnaround in form ahead of the A420 derby against Oxford United on Saturday.

Kovar said: “To have a clean sheet is not that important for me.

“I’m here to help the team get as many points as possible in the games.

“I’m not looking for clean sheets – for me, it is important that the team wins, and if the team is playing well then we will win.

“I’m never thinking about myself, I’m thinking about the team because there are 11 players on the pitch, not just me.

“If everyone keeps doing the right things and we keep winning and winning, the clean sheets will come.

“But I don’t really care about clean sheets at the moment, I care about the team.”

The 20-year-old has endured a turbulent start to his Town career, not just because of the number of goals he has conceded, but the manner in which they have come about too.

After stepping aside to allow deputy Joe Fryer a chance between the sticks against Exeter City in the EFL Trophy, Kovar has produced two much-improved showings despite a pair of defeats against AFC Wimbledon and Sunderland, respectively.

With a game between two out-of-sorts sides ahead this evening, Kovar is adamant things will turn around sooner rather than later – especially given there are nearly 40 league games remaining.

He said: “It’s my first loan away from Manchester United, so it won’t be perfect from the start.

“I know I’ve made a few mistakes and I’ve been punished for that, but I’m young and trying to learn.

“I’m trying to get some experience from the games and trying to improve every single game. Hopefully, that will come with time.

“Everyone is frustrated because we’ve lost three league games on the bounce now.

“It’s not nice for that to happen, but we have to keep going because there are lots of games to play still.”