THE LACK of a proven goalscorer under contract at Swindon Town does not concern manager Richie Wellens, who pointed to his sturdy defence as a prime example of how foundations are being within the squad.

Of the 14 goals scored in League Two this season, only four of those markers have been registered by players under contract at the Energy Check County Ground – the other 10 coming from Rotherham United loanee Jerry Yates, Bradford City man Eoin Doyle, plus Joe Widdowson’s own goal at Leyton Orient on Saturday.

Defensively, however, Wellens’ squad is made up largely of permanent signings – Swansea goalkeeper Steven Benda is the only man under contract at another club.

And it’s from the defensive lines that the Town boss intends to integrate his squad around.

Wellens even went on record to admit high wage demands from proven goalscorers made it hard for him to achieve the right balance when going down the permanent signing route.

He added: “We’ve got a goalkeeper in Luke McCormick and a back four where not one player is on loan.

“Sometimes, you can’t compete with strikers’ money, so you have to move to the loan market. You get better quality players for a cheaper price.

“All in all, the balance of the squad is looking good. I would like a couple more in, but that isn’t going to happen now.

“Unless there is someone who is out-of-contract and really fit, we won’t be getting anymore in.”

Regarding his goalkeeping department specifically, Wellens stated his intention to send academy graduate Archie Matthews out on loan to aid his development for the rest of the season.

That would leave first choice stopper Luke McCormick, back-up option Will Henry and new recruit Benda to compete for the two places available on the Town matchday team sheet.

Wellens said: “We’ve got four goalkeepers – but Archie Matthews is nowhere near ready yet, he needs a loan move.

“The rest of the goalkeepers will compete and push each other – we need that.

“A similar example is in the midfield. If I didn’t have Anthony Grant, I could’ve used Adam May – but May is a different player to Anthony and Jordan Lyden.

“The easiest thing as a manager is to spot a player that is available and get them in. There’s no plan or structure when you do something like that.

“The reason we got Anthony Grant in is because he is good at something we’ve not been good at.

“Steven (Benda) is 6 foot 5 – we haven’t got a goalkeeper that tall that can play with his feet. But he’s inexperienced, so we have Luke to cover that. We’ve got a nice blend.”