Swindon Town

Swindon skipper eyes promotion
Swindon Town skipper Jamie Vincent believes his side are knuckling down to play promotion football. Vincent has stepped in as captain in place of the injured Adie Williams The Robins have been among the League Two pace-setters all season and have regained an automatic promotion slot on the back of a run of seven games with only two defeats. Vincent told SSB: "I think we have been top four all season but I think we got a little bit complacent maybe a month or two ago. "We weren't battling as much as the other teams were, but I think we have started to get more of an edge to our game. "I think the football has gone a bit on the back-burner, because of the state of the pitches and the weather conditions, especially with the wind, but as long as we are prepared to fight - that's the most important thing." Robins boss Paul Sturrock, who took charge at the County Ground last November following Dennis Wise's move to Leeds, has recently looked to adopt a more direct approach in a bid to get the results needed to go up. He admits that the pendulum may have swung too far towards long ball in Tuesday night's goalless draw at Rochdale. But with a difficult pitch dictating as much as tactics, Sturrock and Vincent were both happy to add a further point to their tally against an in-form home side and extend their advantage over major rivals MK Dons in fourth place. "We are two points ahead now on level games so it can go either way at the moment with us and MK Dons. "But if we do well over the Easter period and maybe collect six points then who knows what can happen," Vincent said. The experienced defender expects to have to scrap it out again over the holiday weekend against Hereford and then bottom club Torquay United. Further clean sheets could be key, although Sturrock is now facing changes to his back line with suspensions looming for Jerel Ifil and Jack Smith. Sturrock is weighing up his options but will hope that whoever steps into the breach can adapt as readily as Vincent since the 30-year-old took over a central berth a couple of months ago. "I have played the majority of my career at left-back but I have had to adapt to playing inside on the left with Adie Williams getting a bad knee injury. "But I am enjoying it. Everyone is doing well and with me slotting in there everyone has just gelled," added Vincent, who has led by example as captain in the absence of Williams. "Nothing much has changed on my part. I just try to talk to the lads and try keep them organised as much as possible. "But I am delighted to have the captain's armband. It's an honour and I hope I keep it until the end of the season." VINCENT'S VARIED CAREER Crystal Palace 1993-1996 Bournemouth 1994-1999 Huddersfield 1999-2001 Portsmouth 2001-2004 Walsall Oct '03-Jan '04 (loan) Derby 2004-2005 Millwall 2005-2006 Yeovil Jan-July 2006 Millwall Mar-May '06 (loan) Swindon June 2006- Honours have hitherto been thin on the ground for Vincent, despite an impressive 350-game career which saw Swindon become his eighth club when he joined last summer. Promotion back to League One at the first attempt would therefore represent a major highlight for the Londoner, who has seen service at Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Portsmouth, Derby and Millwall. "It won't be me my first (promotion), but it will be where I have been playing," Vincent said. "Crystal Palace were promoted to the Premiership and so were Portsmouth but unfortunately I didn't really get a game. I couldn't get in the team as the team was doing really well. "This time round I've been playing most of the season, bar a few injuries, and I hope to keep going to the end and get promoted. "It would be a great achievement. When we started out at the beginning of the season promotion was our aim. It will be a success if we achieve our aims."

Swindon manager targets promotion
Swindon boss Paul Sturrock hopes his side can secure automatic promotion in the next couple of matches. He said after the 2-1 win against Torquay: "I hope we can get a few results over the next couple of games which will enable us to finish it off. "It's in our hands with a six-point gap over the side in fourth place in the table and we must now win at Bury. "Our fans thought they would see a lot of goals but Torquay played in the right way and could have punished us."

Robins boss braced for big finale
Swindon boss Paul Sturrock has told his players to grab the promotion initiative in a crucial West country derby at Bristol Rovers. A point will seal Swindon's automatic promotion, while Rovers need a win to maintain their play-off hopes. Sturrock told the Swindon Advertiser: "If Rovers win their game in hand against Macclesfield on Tuesday it'll be a hell of a game on Saturday. "We need another win and if we go to Bristol and sit back we'll lose."

Sturrock savours Swindon success
Swindon manager Paul Sturrock was thrilled to have gained promotion to League One following their 1-1 draw with Walsall on Saturday. He said: "I'm delighted. I'm pleased for everyone at the club. I hope the club and the town are now arm in arm and can continue onwards and upwards. "I would like the players to savour the moment because not many people win things in their career. "It's been a rollercoaster but thankfully we have won promotion."

Sturrock sets League One target
Swindon manager Paul Sturrock says their priority next season is to survive in League One. The Robins clinched promotion with a 1-1 draw on Saturday against Walsall at the County Ground. Sturrock told SSB: "We've got to make sure we survive next year and I need to emphasise it'll be about just trying to stay in the division. "Unless we have a great start we could find it tough, we just need to go in there and construct building blocks."

Defender Ifil pens Swindon deal
Swindon defender Jerel Ifil has signed a new three-year deal with the newly-promoted League One club. The 24-year-old has put pen to paper and is now set to remain at the County Ground until June 2010. Manager Paul Sturrock told the club website: "Jerel is quick, big and strong and he has all the attributes to be the mainstay of the team. "His use of the ball needs working on but we can do that. He's committed to us and will be moving to the area."

Roberts pens new Swindon contract
Swindon's Christian Roberts has committed his future to the club by signing a new two-year contract. The 25-year-old, who scored 13 goals this season, was converted from forward to midfielder by boss Paul Sturrock during the promotion campaign. The Welshman joined Swindon in October 2004 from Bristol City. Roberts told the club website: "I can now go on holiday, relax and reflect on a successful season and look forward to what will be an exciting 2007/08."

Striker Corr agrees Swindon move
Former Sheffield Wednesday striker Barry Corr has agreed terms to join Swindon Town on a two-year contract. The 22-year-old was released by the Owls earlier this month. Corr had been with the Hillsborough outfit since April 2005 but had struggled to get into the first-team with the Owls. He had signed for Swindon on loan at the end of March and went on to make eight league starts for the Robins, scoring three goals.

Swindon sign Easton from Orient
Swindon have signed former Scotland Under-21 midfielder Craig Easton on a free transfer from Leyton Orient. The 28-year-old has signed a two-year deal at the County Ground after rejecting the offer of a new contract at Brisbane Road. Easton made 81 league and cup appearances for Orient after joining them from Livingston in July 2005. Before that, he made over 200 league appearances for Dundee United after coming up through their youth ranks.

Swindon give Allen first pro deal
Swindon midfielder Chris Allen has signed his first professional contract. The 18-year-old, who was captain of the Robins youth team last season, has put pen to paper on a two-year deal. "I am looking forward to pre-season training. I am sure there will be a few nerves but I can't wait to get going," he told the Swindon Advertiser. "It will be a little strange but I went into to sign my deal and I saw all the lads training. That was when it hit home that I was now a senior player."

Swindon snap up defensive duo
Swindon boss Paul Sturrock has signed defenders Chris Blackburn and Miguel Comminges as the Robins prepare for their League One return. Sturrock has also agreed a two-year contract with his son Blair after the striker, 25, ended last season on a short-term deal at the County Ground. Blackburn, 24, has joined Swindon from Morecambe after rejecting a record contract offer from the Shrimps. Right-back Comminges, 24, has signed a 12-month deal after leaving Reims.

Swindon ask fans to rate players
Swindon will hold an open day on Sunday at which their fans will be invited to vote for their favourite trialist. Manager Paul Sturrock has organised a game featuring foreign players looking for contracts with the Robins. Fans will be able to vote for their favourite via text, with the winner set to be invited to train with the squad. Sturrock said: "I've never done anything like this before so it will be a good thing to try. You never know what might catch your eye." The trial game begina at 1300 BST at the club's community open day on Sunday. Fans will be able to vote for their favourite trialist from 1300 until 1600 BST.

Deal done on town football club
A new company has taken formal control of Swindon Town FC, it has been announced. The board said it had signed a contract with Best Holdings SGPS S.A, but has not released any more information about who is involved. It is thought the company is Portuguese. Director Bob Holt said more information would be released soon, but that it was business as usual at the club's County Ground. The club has previously said a new consortium of investors would include long-time owner the Wills family, their advisor and club general manager Mike Diamandis, and a new investor. Fans' consortium The backers have said they have enough money to deal with financial problems and to look to the long-term. When Swindon Town FC came out of administration in 2002, it agreed to pay £1m within five years to creditors. It still owes about £900,000. Last December, a fans' consortium backed by former QPR chairman Bill Power tabled a formal application to take control of the troubled club. The Wills family have two directors on the club's board (Sir Seton and son James), and remain the majority shareholder.

Swindon boss rues missed chances
Swindon boss Paul Sturrock believes his side created enough chances to beat Crewe on Saturday. He said: "I am sure the Swindon fans will be frustrated. To have had the amount of crosses that we had and not add to the scoreline was disappointing. "Over the last two games we have been wasteful in front of goal and that's something we have to work on. "We have been very competitive in this league and we could be sitting here with many more points than we have."

Swindon deny Leicester approach
Swindon Town insist they have not received an approach for boss Paul Sturrock, who has been linked with the vacant manager's job at Leicester City. "Any approach would not be welcome and the club remain committed to League One success under Paul Sturrock?s guidance," a club statement read. Coventry have already dampened speculation linking their manager Iain Dowie with the Walkers Stadium vacancy. Sturrock has managed sides to four promotions in the last six seasons. After spells in charge of Dundee United and St Johnstone, he led Plymouth from Division Three (now League Two) to the Championship, before a brief spell at Southampton when they were in the top flight. Then, the Scot guided Sheffield Wednesday to promotion via the League One play-offs in his first season, and after joining Swindon last November, steered them back into League One at the first time of asking.

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