TOWN’S youth team players continue to face a nervous wait to find out whether or not they will be offered professional deals with the club.

Seven of Paul Bodin’s squad are coming to the end of their youth deals at the County Ground, and are set to find out next Friday whether they will be given the chance to become part of Paolo Di Canio’s first team squad next season.

Miles Storey is the side’s top scorer and enjoyed a brief spell in the first team at the beginning of the season, and he along with goalkeeper Leigh Bedwell, Chris Sim, Joe Chapman, Harry Grant, Eddie Stevens and Ben Whitehead will be hoping to be offered a contract.

Bodin has made recommendations to the Swindon board over who he believes should be kept on at the club, and is hoping for a positive outcome on Friday.

“I think most of the lads’ conversations over the last month have been centred around whether they will or won’t get contracts, and that is only natural,” said Bodin.

“I can understand it, and I have put forwards my recommendations to the board and we will find out next week.

“All of the boys have to finish academic logbooks and coaching courses before they’re finished, and some of them are done while we expect the others to be completed by Wednesday.

“Some clubs make their decisions a bit earlier, but by leaving ours a little later we can ensure everyone completes their academic work at college which is a very important part of what they do while they are here.”

For some young players their time at Swindon will soon be coming to an end, but Bodin insisted there are plenty of examples of players who prove being released doesn’t necessarily mean the end of their hopes of a professional career.

“Letting players go is really hard, and some take it harder than others,” he said.

“But if you look at players like Scott Doe, who left here as a youngster, it does not have to be the end.

“After he left here he went to Weymouth and did very well, and that earned him a move to Dagenham where he has made more than 100 appearances in the Football League.

“Charlie Austin is another example, he left Reading as a youngster because he was not enjoying it and moved back to Bournemouth and worked on a building site. He got back into football with Poole and scored an awful lot of goals.

“He then moved here and is now scoring every week in the Championship, so it can be done.”

Bodin’s side face Bristol Rovers today as they look to keep the pressure on Plymouth Argyle at the top of the South West Youth Alliance League.

  • TOWN fans will have the chance to try to beat the land-speed record at today’s game with Plymouth Argyle - and at the same time leave their favourite Swindon players trailing.

The Bloodhound Supersonic Car Simulator will be at the County Ground for today’s County Ground clash, with prizes available for the best scores.

First team players Aden Flint, Joe Devera and Phil Smith have already tried the simulator, with the goalkeeper recording the best score with 1,015 miles per hour.