SWINDON Town head coach Jody Morris has admitted the club might be forced to look elsewhere for a new assistant coach with a move for Ed Brand continuing to stall.

Morris has been without a number two for over a month now following his appointment at the County Ground on January 30.

Town had been hoping to officially unveil current Chelsea Under-18s head coach, Brand on the same day as his prospective boss, but delays in the approval process have prevented this from happening.

Asked for the latest update on Brand in his Leyton Orient pre-match press conference, Morris admitted Swindon may be forced to plump for Plan B given the lack of progress made throughout February.

Morris said: “There has been movement with Ed, but it might just mean that there has to be a statement coming in the next few days. There might be another plan of action.

"Things need to be done for it to happen, put it that way. That might be a conversation that Ed needs to be having with Chelsea.

“It’s not great, but we need to see what the next steps are. I actually don’t know what they are at the moment.

“It’s probably more for Ed to talk about the reasons why it’s a secondment. I understand the reasons, but I don’t think it’s my place to talk about it.”

In a press conference which even the most optimistic Town fan would have struggled to take encouragement from, Morris also admitted the club were struggling to reinforce the defensive line with free-agent signings.

Adrian Mariappa was one name touted as a potential arrival, but Swindon’s head coach – without naming players – said that no one would be announced prior to Saturday’s away game against League Two leaders, Leyton Orient.

Asked how the hunt for free-agent defenders is going, Morris replied: “Not as well as I would have liked.

“I wish I was sitting here saying we’ve got a defender through the door and signed up, but it hasn’t materialised for whatever reason. I won’t elaborate on why.

“It’s been disappointing, but not for the want of trying. There are numerous aspects that come into play when signing free agents.

“One, they need to be fit for starters. That was a bit of an obstacle with one who wasn’t fit to train when we initially thought we were getting them in.

“And two, it’s making sure you can get a deal done. Sometimes, the goalposts move, and that looks like it might have been the case of late.”