PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE: Swindon Town v Tranmere Rovers

Thank you for joining us for today's press conference.

Garner on fan expectations:

"From my point of view and I say it to the players, you have to block out the external noise. I know what goes on every single day here and coming in this was a long-term project. We have got a long-term plan in how we want to grow the club and how we want to build it. The simple truth is we were massively ahead of schedule this season and I'm not saying we want to drop away from that because we don't. We want to finish as high up the league as we can and challenge for promotion and push and I still think we have the ability to do that.

When you do well and you surpass expectations things change and that is where we are. We are going to embrace that and when there is criticism that's on me and certainly not on this group of players. One game can make a huge difference, I'm hoping we can do that tomorrow, get a fantastic three points and Wednesday morning the world is a better place and everyone has a different outlook again."

Garner on O'Brien and Cooper performances:

"I had seen a lot of Brandon Cooper previously and knew what a top talent he was and that he would be a perfect fit for us. He needs games and has played twice in the last 3/4 months for Swansea and then twice in 4/5 days for us. He is only going to improve and get better.

Jake O'Brien for a first loan and playing back-to-back games has done really well for a 20-year-old. That's a player we watched a lot of at U23s level and the info we got from Palace we felt he was a player that would help us and he could develop. He still has lots to learn but I really like his character and am really pleased with what he has done so far."

Garner on Davison fitness since arriving from Charlton:

"You never know what goes on outside of this building and he hasn't played regularly this season and didn't play the last few weeks before coming to us. His actual all-round condition is fine and he could play 90 minutes as he did at Colchester. It is just this one issue with the bottom of his back and his hamstring tightening up. It is something we can manage but we just need a bit of time to do that."

Garner on Clem Morfuni:

"I had a good chat with him after the game on Saturday and it's a little bit disappointing we couldn't send him on his way with a win. Clem is fantastic and he is very realistic with where we are and he took over the club with the remit of staying in the league. We have been frustrated in the last 3 or 4 games and we need to channel that frustration into upcoming games."

Garner on free agent market:

"I don't think there are any options and we were going to loan Harry Parsons out but I don't think we are going to do that and sometimes you have to look internally for solutions. That is no slate on Louis Barry or Jayden Mitchell-Lawson. Whereas with loan players at the start of the season we had time, we just don't have that luxury at the moment."

Garner on his message to his players:

"You have to block out that external noise and it is about the performance on the pitch and the preparation going into that. One-nil up going into the 80th minute on Saturday I would have been disappointed with a point never mind losing the game. I've been in this position in the Premier League before and you get one win and it changes everything. We have to go to Tranmere looking for the 3 points."

Garner on Tranmere:

"It's a game we are looking forward to and our record away from home against top teams is very good and we can go to Tranmere with confidence. We just need that win to turn that momentum around and one win can change everything. Defending has been Tranmere's strength and they are very organised under Micky and they have good versatility there. They haven't let many goals in. We have had some great away days and hopefully, tomorrow night can be another one of those."

Garner on Joe Tomlinson debut:

"It was a really good debut especially with limited training days with us. he can play on both sides of the pitch and Ellis Iandolo was simply given a rest. We are in this thick run of games and we have to get them up to speed within games. We have to be aware of that and manage it as best as possible whilst still trying to win games."

Garner on weekend substitutions:

"We knew we were going to have to take Josh Davison off and we needed that physical presence so we went with Ellis Iandolo. That definitely disrupted the team and is something we have to look at moving forwards. I'm confident we can build Josh Davison and make him more resilient and can get him in a much better place with a few weeks of training. We just have to manage him but he will certainly improve."

Garner on squad selection:

"He will be back in the squad this week and if not tomorrow then Saturday. Dion Conroy is having a scan this evening and we will know more after that but he won't be involved tomorrow. He was a bit sore after the Crawley game with his achilles and we will know more this evening. Josh Davison just had a bit of tightness but he will be good to go. Jordan Lyden has ruptured his achilles and that is a big injury.

At the time on Saturday he thought he had been kicked down the back of his leg and tried to carry on, that pain he felt wasn't a kick, it was his tendon going. He got back into the team over the last few months and we are disappointed for Jordan. He is seeing a specialist but we are looking at months rather than weeks."

Garner on recovery from Saturday:

"There was a recovery day yesterday and we are training this afternoon before travelling up tomorrow."

Ben Garner has now joined us.

Good morning and thank you for joining us for today's Swindon Town press conference, we are in the zoom call and Ben Garner will be joining us shortly.