RICHIE Wellens has conceded that the Swindon Town squad in its current state is unbalanced and requires improvement – starting on the training ground this week ahead of Saturday’s trip to Port Vale.

A performance littered with errors in defence and a lack of forward-thinking runs up front ensured Wellens became the first Town boss in a decade to lose his first home game in charge when they went down 4-0 at home to Carlisle United at the weekend.

A positive opening 40 minutes was quickly undone by John Sheridan’s side, and the performance has left Town’s 38-year-old new boss with plenty to ponder.

With exactly six weeks remaining until the January transfer window opens, Wellens vowed to do his best with the team that he has got.

He said: “Me and my staff are looking at this squad, and it is unbalanced – I think anyone would admit that.

“We have a number of games from now until January to work with what we have got.

“For example, Luke Woolfenden gave everything we asked of him on Saturday. He adapted well, and I thought he was really good.

“Let’s try and improve the players that we’ve got, because we can’t do much.

“Hopefully we will pick up a few wins between now and January, then we can assess the situation then.”

Wellens also suggested a lack of experience – and therefore know-how – on Saturday cost his men, adding he is yet to identify any ‘out and out’ wing-backs or goalscorers in his squad.

Town’s average player age on Saturday of 24 is a figure that isn’t sitting well with Wellens, who suggested adding experience to his squad in the upcoming transfer window might be required.

He said: “If you look at Carlisle’s team, they’ve got a lot of men – a lot of players that have clocked 400 plus games.

“Then look at our team – there are a lot of lads just starting their career.

“Off the top of my head from Saturday’s team, Matt Taylor has played a lot of games – the rest are starting their careers.

“The easiest thing for me to do would be to lose my head – our second-half performance was not acceptable.

“I have to make sure it’s not to our detriment. We’ve got to keep the players onside because we have another game on Saturday.

“I’ll always try and be constructive, but that last half-an-hour against Carlisle really hurt.

“When I’m a manager and I’m stood there having just joined a new club, and I come in at half-time stating that I thought we played well – there were loads of positives.

“I think Swindon fans understand where we are at the moment, and I hope in the first 35 or 40 minutes (before Carlisle’s first goal) they saw signs of what we’re trying to do.”