Swindon Town 2 Yeovil Town 3: Those familiar with Swindon Town caretaker boss David Byrne will know that he prefers to be called 'Budgie' – but, perhaps, the nickname 'Parrot' would be more appropriate for a man who admits that the constant need to keep repeating himself is starting to wear a bit thin, writes James McNamara.

Byrne said he was 'sick and tired' of saying the same old things following the latest setback in a season that is spiralling from bad to even worse for managerless Swindon Town.

"I don't know where to start," was Budgie's response when asked for his thoughts on a defeat that saw West Country rivals Yeovil leapfrog Town in and around the danger zone – so we'll just start from the beginning.

Town began brightly enough – for the first nine minutes anyway – before slack marking allowed Yeovil defender Craig Alcock to glide through the air unhindered to direct a pin-point Danny Schofield corner in off the underside of the crossbar.

Twenty minutes later the advantage was doubled; an audacious piece of individual skill from Danny Schofield picking out the lung-busting run of midfielder Lee Peltier, who executed a clinical finish under the body of Phil Smith after leaving the back four trailing in his wake.

From there the task appeared to be a mammoth one for Town. That was until two goals quickly either side of half-time served to turn the tables. A delicious Michael Timlin free-kick from the edge of the box halved the deficit before parity was restored; a vicious low drive into an empty net from Jon-Paul McGovern after Yeovil goalkeeper Josh Wagenaar was poleaxed by defender Terry Skiverton when attempting to claim a high ball.

Only one side was going to go on and win it from there – or so you would have thought. The one you expected to emerge victorious, however, contrived to concede the initiative they had gained by producing the sort of defensive calamity that has been one of the sub-plots of their season to hand Yeovil what proved to be the winning goal.

After being pinned back in their own territory for much of the second half, the Glovers managed to produce a rare sortie forward with just over 15 minutes remaining.

Substitute Gavin Tomlin made a nuisance of himself after Skiverton hooked a hopeful pass into the danger zone and Town defender Jerel Ifil seemingly attempting to head the ball back into the grateful arms of goalkeeper Phil Smith watched in horror as it sailed into his own net.

"I am just getting sick and tired of saying the same old things," said Byrne, after emerging from the changing room following a heated exchange of views with his players off the back of a 45 minute lock-in.

"Some things have had to be said in that changing room but I do think I am starting to sound like a broken record. I can't keep repeating what I have been saying for the last five or six weeks because people just don't want to hear about it anymore."

It has now been ten games since Town enjoyed any sort of result in terms of a victory and a place in the bottom four was only evaded thanks to an injury-time goal at Tranmere, which kept Swindon ahead of Brighton – but only on goal difference.

Murmurs emanating from the changing room over the last seven days have suggested that the on-going uncertainty over the managerial situation is starting to have a negative effect on performances, but Byrne countered: 'I'm not buying that as any sort of excuse."

He added: "If I was a player that knew a new manager was coming in, I would be doing my upmost to make sure that I performed on a weekly-basis just in case he was having the games watched."

The booing that accompanied the final whistle made it clear that a certain level of disquiet is seeping through to the supporters after six weeks of waiting for a new manager. The message to chairman Andrew Fitton as supporters filed out of the ground was clear: 'We want a new manager and we want one now."

The only positive thing that came out of Saturday's defeat, perhaps, is that a win would have bought Fitton more time in his hunt for 'the right man'.

Whether the Town chief will now bite the bullet and stump up the cash to prise Richard Money away from Newcastle remains to be seen, but the likelihood is that a new manager will be in place by the end of the week.

Former Bristol City boss Danny Wilson is also another option after he registered an interest in the vacant post and his departure from Hartlepool would negate the need for compensation.

Nottingham Forest boss Colin Calderwood looks certain to remain at the City Ground after masterminding an away win at Southampton, but Gary Speed is still a possible and, of course, there are new names emerging all the time: Gary McAllister, anyone?

Whatever the outcome of their increasingly time consuming hunt for a new manager, the alarming nature of Town's current plight could certainly look a lot worse by the turn of the year should the players fail to pick up a respectable points-return in their next two games against fellow relegation candidates Leyton Orient (Friday) and Brighton (Sunday).

"We have to prepare ourselves for Leyton Orient because that is a huge game for us now and is more than a six-pointer," Byrne added. Now, where I have heard that before?

Swindon (4-4-2): Phil Smith, Jack Smith, Ifil, Aljofree (Morrison 20), Kennedy (Sturrock 83); McGovern, Easton, Timlin, McNamee (Corr 74); Cox, Peacock. Subs Not Used: Brezovan, Pook.

Yeovil (4-4-2): Wagenaar, Alcock, Skiverton, Forbes, Smith; Warne, Roberts, Peltier, Schofield; Rodgers, Noel-Williams (Tomlin 65).

Subs Not Used: Jones, Welsh, Murtagh, Brown.