There was no case of 'new manager syndrome' to help Swindon Town to what would have been a useful victory in their bid to climb away from the relegation zone as Danny Wilson took charge for the first time.

The new manager was roundly applauded by the Town faithful when he was paraded just before kick-off – but the sense of a new era and all the optimism that usually accompanies it was sadly lacking at the final whistle after Town slumped to yet another home defeat.

The applause was replaced by boos after another lacklustre home performance, where a lack of guile allied with the reoccurring defensive calamities even left Wilson to admit that his new players have to 'work smarter'.

While Town dominated the opening period, a failure to score was punished just before the break when a smart finish from striker Nicky Forster offered Brighton an undeserving lead.

Comedy defending from Town soon after the restart offered Forster the chance to grab a second from the penalty spot and after that the writing was firmly on the wall.

Wilson explained before kick-off that he wants to employ an 'attractive brand' of football during his time at the County Ground – sometimes, however, pragmatism wins out over aesthetics; the Seagulls were content to set up two obstinate banks of four from that point on and relied on long balls over the top for their two speedy marksmen to chase.

Town, meanwhile, laboured away in a bid to find a chink in the Brighton's determined rearguard armour – but for all their 'huffing and puffing', visiting goalkeeper John Sullivan enjoyed an incident-free afternoon as Wilson's new side failed to create a meaningful attempt at goal.

"We huffed and puffed a lot and you can't question the work-rate and commitment," said Wilson.

"Those things are the least you expect from the players, though, and they know they will have to work a bit smarter than they did to get results in games like this. We didn't possess any real threat going forward and we didn't really create any periods of concerted pressure to force a mistake out of Brighton."

Wilson had named an unchanged side from the one that ended a 10 game winless run with victory at Leyton Orient on Friday, but it was the Seagulls who stared the brighter.

They carved out the first opportunity inside five minutes when Town defender Patrick Kanyuka was caught the wrong side of the ball at a throw in to allow livewire striker Stuart Fleetwood the chance to get in behind and fizz a dangerous pass across the face of goal.

Wideman Adam Virgo won a footrace with Michael Timlin to get to the ball first and forced goalkeeper Peter Brezovan to divert a vicious low effort behind for a corner.

Town got to grips with their opponents following that early scare and after creating a couple of half-chances to worry their opponents, Timlin went closest by hitting the base of the post from a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area that was almost a carbon copy of the one he did score against Yeovil the last time out at the County Ground.

Striker Simon Cox was the next to try his luck after skipping unchallenged through a couple of half-hearted challenges to pull the trigger from the edge of the box. The shot went high and wide, however, and the Seagulls took the lead soon after.

Forster pounced on a clever through ball from Fleetwood to angle a clinical finish past Town goalkeeper Peter Brezovan with two minutes of the half remaining. Brighton doubled their lead five minutes after the restart following a moment of slack defending that allowed Fleetwood in behind again. Ifil failed to deal with a long punt forward from the boot of goalkeeper Sullivan and Fleetwood got too the bouncing ball before Brezovan only to see his effort ricochet off the big Slovakian.

Fleetwood's attempts to chase the rebound, however, were impeded needlessly by Timlin and the referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Forster showed similar lack of hesitation to converting the spot-kick by sending Brezovan the wrong way.

"It was a poor goal to concede," Wilson admitted.

"We have to be more solid defensively because you can't rely on winning games 4-3. It is a case of going back to basics and doing the simple things right. "It (poor defending) is a concern because we have to start from somewhere and you usually start your building from the back."

Wilson immediately made a double change in a bid to find a way back into the game; Lilian Nalis and Blair Sturrock making way for Anthony McNamee and Barry Corr.

McNamee made an instant impression on the flank by firing in a couple of tantalising crosses but with nobody in the right to capitalise the chances were lost.

The new manager now has almost two weeks to organise his troops on the training ground before Town take on Stockport in their next game – by which time there could be 'one or two' new faces.

"I'd like to think we can get a few players in early and we have already identified a couple," Wilson said, when asked about the upcoming transfer window.

"We know where we need to strengthen and hopefully we will have someone new in before the next game."

Swindon (4-4-2): Brezovan; J Smith, Ifil, Kanyuka, Timlin; Easton, Peacock, Nalis (McNamee 54), McGovern; Cox, Sturrock (Corr 54). Subs: Amankwaah, Pook, Morrison.

Brighton (4-4-2): Sullivan; Whing, Hinshelwood, Elphick, Richards; Virgo (Murray 75), Fraser, Johnson, McCleod; Forster, Fleetwood. Subs: Crichton, Mayo, Thornton, Loft.