REICE Charles-Cook believes Swindon Town’s current defence are one of the best he has played behind after claiming a first clean sheet for the club in the 1-0 win at home to Wycombe Wanderers at the weekend.

Charles-Cook, who joined the club from Coventry City on transfer deadline day this summer, has enjoyed a strong four-match run between the sticks for Swindon while regular number one Lawrence Vigouroux serves a suspension.

Town dealt with both Wycombe’s forward threat and difficult windy conditions at the Energy Check County Ground with comparative ease and the visitors never looked like finding a reply to Harry Smith’s early opener.

Swindon boss David Flitcroft brought in plenty of experience to his back-line during his summer squad building exercise and Charles-Cook believes they have some of the best in the business in League Two.

“Matt Preston has been outstanding and you always know Olly Lancashire is going to perform,” said Charles-Cook.

“Ben Purkiss is solid and you think of Matt Taylor as a centre midfielder now but the job he is doing at left-back, where he is battling and winning headers, is great.

“I’m sure Vigs would say the same but as a goalkeeper, the trust we have in those guys is unbelievable and it’s probably one of the best back fours I have played behind. I expect there to be many more clean sheets.

“We were all gelling and getting to know each other but I think that gelling is done now.”

Charles-Cook’s maiden clean sheet in Town colours was all the more sweet considering last-gasp goals had denied him of that honour in each of the previous two outings.

Lincoln City grabbed a 83rd-minute winner to beat Town the previous Tuesday, while Charles-Cook saw his hoped of a first shut-out dashed by Mansfield Town’s stoppage-time consolation before that.

“At Mansfield it was my mistake, we should have had a clean sheet up there and I hold my hands up for that, but then against Lincoln, to lose out to the header at the end was totally gutting as we don’t really concede from set-pieces,” said Charles-Cook.

“To get the clean sheet on Saturday with the weather being as bad as it was, it was a big achievement from the boys.”