PHIL Brown has started life at Swindon Town in the right way, injecting some life into players that find themselves stuck in a six-game inconsistent rut.

While losses against Accrington, Wycombe, Chesterfield and Cheltenham have dented Town’s hopes of earning automatic promotion from League Two, Brown’s new charges find themselves just a point behind seventh-placed Coventry City.

Consistency – as with every team in Town’s position in the Football League right now – is key.

And it seems Brown has identified an area he wants to immediately improve having reflected on the club’s latest performances.

A troubled back three have recorded just one clean sheet since the turn of February, whether Brown sticks with the current 3-5-2 formation remains to be seen.

But he has acted to bring in Northern Ireland defender Ryan McGivern, who joins following stints with Port Vale, Shrewsbury and Northampton.

He has also been boosted by the news that Chris Hussey – a player he referred to multiple times during his first official press call – is returning to fitness.

It seems unlikely Hussey will compete the full 90 minutes on Saturday, but Brown did make regular comments about getting 10 games out of the 29-year-old – suggesting he is hopeful of a return to full match fitness in the next week.

The combination of Hussey and Matt Taylor could be key in any Town promotion challenge.

Brown said: “Chris Hussey has had a good week. He’s better than second division (League Two) in my opinion. If we can get him back for 10 games with Matt Taylor in front of him that will hopefully cause the opposition problems.”

Brown also touched on the possible return of Tom Smith and Tom Ouldridge, both players currently out on loan.

While they may be required should more injuries occur within the Town squad, Brown added bringing them back at this moment is not necessary as they are unlikely to be part of the first team.

According to Town, international transfer window rules mean goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux will remain on loan at Waterford.

However goalkeeper Will Henry will return from his loan spell at Hampton & Richmond after Reice Charles-Cook picked up a wrist injury.

The result of all of these decisions has followed discussions between Brown and influential player Matt Taylor.

Brown said: “It’s interesting to understand there were one or two square pegs in round holes.

“With the size of the squad sometimes players will have to step out of the mould and play in an area they haven’t played in before.

“Having sat down with Matt (Taylor) and Brian (Horton) with his experience, Matt has been a key figure with regards to how certain players behave, play and what they’re like in situations.

“I think Matt will be a big player for us. The experience of him, Ben Purkiss, Marc Richards – it’s so important they carry younger lads through in tight situations.

“There’s certain things I will change and there are certain things I’ll stick with because the previous manager was a good manager.”

Yesterday, it felt as though Brown has entered the County Ground at the right time.

Walking into the press room with a evident grin, scarf wrapped around his suit and trusty assistant, former Manchester City boss Brian Horton, by his side, Brown appeared at home, making reference to staying at the club beyond his end-of-season deal multiple times.

Reflecting on his first day at the club, Brown said: “The response on Tuesday was fantastic. I met all the staff on Monday - the backroom staff, people behind the scenes and everyone else.

“We brought training forward on Tuesday and got an hour-and-a-half of work into them.

“I watched a great reserve performance. There was positive energy and then we went to watch Exeter against Yeovil.

“Wednesday was all about organisation and behind the scenes stuff. Thursday was positive, the training ground was a little bit heavy but we still went out and had a good hour.”

Now the real challenge awaits, Cambridge away.