Yeovil Town assistant boss Nathan Jones insists Nathan Smith will soon be back in the side.

Jones replaced the highly-rated left back for last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Walsall.

But the veteran Welshman is adamant that Smith was only rested for a week.

He could return for today's visit of Carlisle United if he gets over a slight knee injury that ruled him out of Tuesday's home game with Hereford before it was postponed.

Jones' start at Walsall was his first of the calendar year.

"We feel Nathan is a fantastic player but just recently his productivity has dipped and it is his first season in pro football in all honesty," said Jones.

"Before we even took over we talked about it to him that he wasn't quite as fluent as he has been. It is difficult to maintain high standards in full-time training because he is not used to it.

"The plan was to give him a week's rest and get him back in but he has picked up a slight knock so he hasn't been able to do that.

"We had the means to give him a rest and the plan is to get him back as soon as possible.

"There has been a lot of speculation about him and for a young man he has had a lot on his shoulders but hopefully he will come back flying."

Jones was an unused substitute in the two previous games which meant he was on the touchline next to manager Terry Skiverton. Jones was clearly the more excitable of the pair.

"I have been animated," he said. "I am a little bit frustrated at times. At least when you are on the pitch you can do something about it.

"You work on things in training and sometimes people forget and it is frustrating, but that is the way I am.

"I will have to calm down a bit, but I am a fiery, animated, energetic character. I will have to find a happy medium."

Jones insists he is relishing the challenge of playing and managing.

"I am really enjoying it," he said. "The hours are a lot tougher but we have learned quite a lot in a short space of time.

"It has been a tough start on the pitch but we are learning the ropes and getting used to it. You delegate and it is not a problem. We are two relatively young, fit individuals."

It is early days for the new management team and Jones admits the new style of play is yet to fully emerge.

"We watched the video (of the 2-0 defeat to Walsall) and we analysed it and put things in motion and at the minute we are struggling to keep clean sheets and that is down to individual errors," said the No 2.

"If we eradicate them then I think we will be a different team.

"We are working on lots of stuff and I think you will see a team in time that creates, is bright, is fully committed and really goes for a win.

"We are in a transition period but we are working on a lot of things. We have had a difficult start but now it is a big month for us. Hopefully we can see what we are doing on the training pitch come to fruition."

Skiverton and Jones are in charge until the end of the season but they are already making long-term plans.

Skiverton said: "We are out there monitoring players some for now and some for the future. There is a lot of young talent out there."

Jones admits to being amazed at how many players have been pushed towards them.

"We are starting to make some plans," he said. "We have been out on the road watching a few players and identified a few things and it has been good."

Yeovil Town (from): Wagenaar, Peltier, Forbes, Brown, Smith, Schofield, Worthington, Roberts, Welsh, Tomlin, Warne, Rodgers, McCollin, Murtagh, Jones, Alcock, Hutchins, Skiverton.