THE sudden departure of James Dunne hurt Swindon Town’s chances of registering points against Carlisle United at the Energy Check County Ground this afternoon, according to manager Richie Wellens.

Wellens, who was taking charge of his first game as Town boss since being unveiled as Phil Brown’s replacement on Tuesday, was forced to take James Dunne off the field with less than 30 minutes played due to a family emergency.

Little over 10 minutes after Dunne’s departure, Carlisle’s Ashley Nadesan scored to earn John Sheridan’s side a fragile one-goal lead at half time.

But a lacklustre Town let three past in the second half, meaning Wellens’ troops crashed to their heaviest League Two defeat of the season.

The loss - which stretches Town's winless run at home in League Two to 91 days - has dropped Town to 18th in the table, seven points clear of the relegation zone.

The new Town boss said: “You never really get a job when the situation is all rosy.

“I’ve highlighted a lot of things that aren’t right at the moment.

“There were a lot of good things in the opening 35 minutes – we put good balls into the box and got into good areas.

“We didn’t get that moment where we could’ve got on the end of a tap in though.

“We conceded goals at bad times, but the biggest thing for me today was when James (Dunne) went off – that killed us, it absolutely killed us.

“He had that energy about his play, and we started really well.

“When he left the pitch, it sucked the life out of us.

“It’s a bad family emergency, and it puts things into perspective – he’s got a more serious matter to deal with.”

Wellens described all four of Carlisle’s goals as preventable, adding he has plenty to work on when Town return to the training ground in the week.

A trip to Port Vale next week is Town’s next challenge, and Wellens hopes to have a greater understanding of his players’ personalities in seven days’ time.

He added: “The first goal, Dion (Conroy) doesn’t need to step in because Matt Taylor is there covering.

“But he steps in and allows space for Carlisle in behind and they put it in the back of the net.

“The second was straight forward for them – the third was a great free kick after a handball where we should be heading it.

“It’s tough knowing that the game is gone when there’s still half-an-hour to go.

“It was tough because I don’t know the character of my players that well, I’m looking for body language.”