TOWN boss Andy King insists he has made a brave and selfless decision by inviting Steve Coppell to help stop the County Ground rot.

The former Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Brentford boss was due to meet King this afternoon for talks before watching Town in action at Cheltenham.

King said he had taken the decision to seek Coppell's help after watching his team slump to a sixth successive defeat.

He said: "I decided to take command of the situation before the situation took command of me.

"I just felt we needed something new to liven the place up and Steve Coppell has tasted life at the top as a player, a coach and manager.

"But he also performed miracles at Brentford last season on no money."

Coppell has agreed to spend an initial month at the club as first team coach before reviewing his options.

However, the final team selection will remain King's.

The decision to ask Coppell to inject some fresh ideas has been greeted in some quarters as King virtually signing his own death warrant.

But the under-pressure County Ground boss said he was acting in the best interests of Swindon Town, rather than himself.

He said: "I have made a decision that I believe will help this football club.

"If it leads to an improvement, it helps the team, the manager and Steve Coppell.

"But if it makes no difference and we keep losing games, my situation will take care of itself anyway.

"If the worst came to the worst, at least I could say I tried to change things rather than doing nothing.

"Whatever the consequences of bringing Steve Coppell in prove to be, I will face them when the time comes.

"The success of this football club is what concerns me."

But King wants to make it perfectly clear to fans that this is hardly a 'panic' move.

He said: "I have been thinking about this decision for a couple of weeks.

"Steve can provide new ideas for the players, but also for me as a manager.

"Whether people see it as a brave move or a foolish move on my part, that is for them to decide.

"But having spoken to people about Steve, I realised that his strengths were probably my weaknesses."

As for the question of financing Coppell's stay at the County Ground, chief executive Mark Devlin said: "Hopefully an 'affordable' agreement can be reached."

However, King's decision to ask for Coppell's help is not good news for current assistant boss Malcolm Crosby.

The popular number two is likely to find himself in charge of reserve team duties in the short term.

His long-term position is rather more uncertain.

As for tonight's game, it is unclear which 11 players Coppell will see in action for Town at Whaddon Road.

Adam Willis is still ruled out with a knee injury, Stefani Miglioranzi is also struggling with a similar problem, while Alan Reeves pulled up in training yesterday with a knock.

However, the manager was hopeful that Danny Invincible would be fit for selection after a troublesome heel injury.