It might be a few years since new Swindon Town manager Danny Wilson produced a side that was 'just like watching Brazil' – but his first engagement at the County Ground yesterday was enough to suggest that the desire to entertain has not diminished.

Wilson was quick to point out that the 'just like watching Brazil' phrase, which became synonymous with the successful Barnsley side he guided to the promised land of the Premiership during the mid-nineties, was a bit 'tongue in cheek'.

That, however, it seems, does not mean that Wilson has lost any of the creative instinct that made the Tykes so pleasing on the eye – quite the opposite, in fact.

The obligatory press conference to confirm his anointment as the latest man tasked with guiding Town back to the glory days was littered with references to 'entertaining' and 'attacking' football.

"I have to say that it certainly wasn't me who coined that 'Brazil' phrase," Wilson said

"We did play some good football at Barnsley and the key thing at that time was that we enjoyed it. I want to produce teams that play attacking football because the bottom line is we are in the entertainment game and the fans just want to enjoy it.

"I don't want to put a team out on the park that is bland and it is important that we produce a brand of football that everyone can be proud of.

"The West Country people have a great passion for the game and the catchment area for this club is vast. We have to put a product on the pitch that will persuade people to come through the turnstiles."

The pledge to provide attractive football, however, was not followed by grand promises of promotion or a return to the glory days when Town mixed it with the best in the Premiership. Not that Wilson - who also managed in the top-flight with Sheffield Wednesday - doesn't have such lofty ambitions.

"If I haven't got the ambition then the players aren't going to have it are they?" Wilson asked, somewhat rhetorically.

"Everybody wants to be involved in games against Manchester United and that ambition has never been diluted in me. This club has had a taste of that and, of course, once you've been there you want to experience that sort of success again.

"Sometimes that can act as a great motivation but it can also be a hindrance because the expectation levels can be unrealistic. Let's see how we go because I think it is wrong to make predictions.

"It could be slow progress or it could be a fast-track to success but we have to concentrate on taking things one step at a time."

Wilson's immediate task, however, is to drag Town up by the bootlaces after his first game at the helm ended in defeat to keep his new side firmly ensconced into relegation mix.

And while admitting afterwards that there is plenty of work to be done to turn things around, he added: "This league is very tight.

"The top two or three teams up there right at this moment will have a major say in automatic promotion, but everything else is up for grabs.

"Even if you are around the bottom at this stage of the season a few decent results can put you in a healthy position very quickly. I have to believe that we can do that."