Cheltenham Town boss Martin Allen admitted it was a relief to see Elvis Hammond finally deliver the sort of performance he has been waiting to see in Tuesday night's 2-2 draw with Swindon Town.

Striker Hammond, who has been awarded an 18-month contract by Allen, netted a stylish brace as Cheltenham hit back from a goal down to lead 2-1 before the home side levelled to claim a point.

Allen said: "It was great to see him scoring because I know he can do it and that's the sort of performance I have been waiting to see for a long time.

"Three games in a week is still difficult for him because he has come back from a long time out injured, but he has shown tonight what he can do.

"He has been doing that in training on a regular basis and I have had to persevere with him tonight because there weren't any other options up front."

Allen hailed the character of his players, who had lost their previous seven games and have faced uncertain futures due to the club's financial problems.

"The players were superb and did us proud," he said. "We controlled the game and it takes a lot of courage to go out and do that because it's difficult for them at the moment.

"I told them they owed it to the club because the chairman (Paul Baker) saved us last week, when there was a threat of administration."

Allen lost midfielder Alex Russell last week and leading scorer Lloyd Owusu to Brighton on Monday as Cheltenham have had to slash their wage bill.

Damian Spencer has attracted interest from Yeovil Town and Brentford have been chasing winger Ashley Vincent, but Allen is hopeful that he will not be forced to let any more players leave.

"I have had 20,000 agents ringing me over the past few days, but I have been fending them off and there have been a lot of enquiries," he said. "I don't want to lose players and it's not my doing.

"I want to keep them all and the chairman has implied that nobody else has had to leave."

Allen is believed to have made an attempt to bring in Huddersfield Town midfielder Mike Flynn, but the move has fallen through due to financial constraints.

Meanwhile, Vincent picked up a knee ligament injury in the first half of last night's draw and could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

"Ashley will miss Saturday and we are not sure of the extent of the injury yet, but it is a bad one," Allen added.

Cheltenham travel to runaway League One leaders Leicester City, Allen's previous club, on Saturday.