It is no coincidence that Drissa Diallo's spell on the sidelines has seen Cheltenham Town concede 19 goals in their last five league games.

The Frenchman has recovered from a knee injury and is fit and ready to return in a bid to shore up the leakiest defence in English football.

The Robins have conceded 62 goals in 27 matches this season – more than any other club in the Premier League, Football League or Blue Square Premier.

The trend was set at the start of the campaign when goalkeeper Shane Higgs let in four goals on four occasions in the opening six league matches. Since then there has been a change of manager and a change of goalkeeper, but the goals have continued to fly past Scott Brown in boss Martin Allen's side.

Peterborough United became the first team since Redbridge Forest in 1991-92 to score six or more goals at Whaddon Road when they won 6-3 on December 28 and MK Dons helped themselves to five more on Saturday.

Only Damian Spencer's hat-trick gave the scoreline a more respectable look at 5-3 to Roberto Di Matteo's side.

The only time this season Cheltenham have looked close to watertight was just before Diallo picked up his medial ligament injury in a training ground challenge with Barry Hayles.

They had kept three clean sheets in five games and the central defensive partnership of Diallo and Darren Kenton was looking formidable.

But Diallo's injury has kept him out for six weeks and Kenton left under a cloud at the start of January.

"It has been very frustrating having to watch the team conceding so many goals, but I am fit and ready to try to help," said Diallo.

"We need to become harder to beat, but there is still belief in the camp that we can turn things around. We are all disappointed about the last few games, but we have to regroup and move on, keep working and we will get the rewards.

"When you are at the bottom nothing seems to go your way, but you have to keep fighting."

Diallo, 36, has signed a contract with the Robins until the summer of 2010.

"I have just moved into Cheltenham and I am settling in well," he said.

"I feel fit and as long as I can do the job, I will carry on playing."

Cheltenham (from): Brown, Puddy, Gallinagh, Diallo, Duff, Wright, Ridley, Vincent, Russell, Finnigan, Westlake, Bignall, Low, Owusu, Hammond, Spencer.