SWINDON Town manager John Sheridan says his players are up for the fight as the club bids to move away from the League One relegation zone.

Town’s quest to avoid an immediate return to English football’s fourth tier took a slight dent on Tuesday night after a narrow defeat to Lincoln City saw Sheridan’s men drop to 19th after being unable to follow up their victory over Bristol Rovers from the previous weekend.

Swindon have shown their fighting spirit in three of the first four games of Sheridan’s reign – according to the man himself – but the team must stick together if things do not turn around as quickly as they would like, said Sheridan.

“The players will still take confidence from the performance – I praised them after the game for the workmanlike performance, their effort and their 100 per cent desire to get something from the game,” said the Town boss.

“But it’s important we stay together because the signs that I’ve seen in my first four games have shown me that the players are up for the fight. We need to fight because we’re in a tough, tough league.

“But the competitiveness I’ve seen in three out of the four games has been good, and I know they’re up for the scrap. So hopefully we’ll get out of the position we’re in.”

Town’s performance on Tuesday night was much more pragmatic, direct, and defensively sound than had often been seen under pervious manager Richie Wellens, with Swindon going over 200 minutes between conceding a third against Accrington Stanley and Lewis Montsma’s 75th minute header a week later.

Sheridan said the current style of play will have to remain until he is able to call upon more “adventurous” attacking players who can efficiently affect the game in the final third.

He said: “My stamp on things will take more time, but we’re short on bodies at the moment.

“Tom Broadbent has come back in after a while out and Dion Donohue has come back in as well after an injury, but for now we just need to be harder to beat.

“We defended well, and we worked our socks off against Lincoln and we were hard to play against. We matched one of the best teams in this league, so that’s a big plus, for me.

“Once we get one or two more attack-minded and adventurous players back on the pitch, we’ll be more of a threat going forward. For now, we’ve got to make do with being solid at the back.”