TOWN boss Mark Cooper will be stepping up his recruitment drive ahead of the weekend’s fixture with Coventry.

With injuries potentially ruling out Michael Smith and George Barker, as well Nathan Thompson set to serve a one-match suspension, Swindon’s squad is thin on the ground.

Cooper’s faith in his youngsters has been well documented and so far proven to be largely successful. However after Tuesday’s game he admitted that chairman Lee Power and himself will have to increase the numbers they were trying to get in door for the Coventry clash.

Asked whether he had plans to bring players in for the game he said: “We were trying to do that anyway, we’re hoping to that we will have - well it was two – we’re hoping it be a few more now. It is what it is, we’re not going to bleat about, we’re going to get on with it.

"We had Michael Smith playing with one arm, George Barker with one arm, Ben Gladwin could have broken his ankle. So we were playing with nine-and-a-half men in the end. I can’t see any of them being fit for Saturday.”

If the club are unable to get their targets in before Saturday Cooper has no qualms using the youngsters he has already shown faith in this season.

“We’ve got faith in our young players and if we have to play the young players then we will play them,” he added.