LEE Spalding took plenty of positives despite suffering a first defeat as Swindon Supermarine manager at the weekend.

Marine travelled to Southern League West leaders Taunton Town and lost 1-0 after Matt Buse fired home from close range.

Since taking over from Dave Webb just over a month ago, Spalding has a record of one win, three draws and one defeat.

Despite this maiden loss, the Marine manager was more than happy with what he saw from his players.

“It was disappointing but, to be honest, I was delighted with the performance,” said Spalding.

“The level of performance was outstanding on the day, as it has been since I took charge.

“It was brilliant. The attitude was spot-on and Taunton are the strongest team in the league, which is why they are where they are.

“They play back to front very quickly and they try to play to their strengths. I felt we dealt with it well.

“The goal came from a throw, which wasn’t taken from the right place. The ball was whipped in and then they scored.

“But for 95 per cent of the game, we were able to deal with everything they threw at us. There were loads of positives to take from the game.”

Since taking the reins, Spalding has installed a more resolute style of play in order to make Marine harder to beat.

He now says the next step is to create more chances in attack as he looks to strike a winning combination.

“If I was being critical, I think we need to be more of a threat going forward,” he added.

“I wouldn’t say we had a goal threat on the day, we were a little bit void of ideas in the final third.

“Obviously we have managed to become a lot harder to beat so now we are looking to become more of a threat.

“It is a case of improving in certain areas of the pitch and making sure players know what they are in the team to do.

“I said to the players after the game that now we have to move on to the next game. We have to learn and take the positives because we are going in the right direction.”