SWINDON Town are to hold talks with Nile Ranger’s representatives later this week as they prepare to terminate the striker’s contract at the County Ground.

The Advertiser understands Town’s management team and chairman Lee Power are at the end of their tether with Ranger following the former Newcastle frontman’s latest disciplinary indiscretion.

The 22-year-old, who has scored six goals in 19 appearances for the Robins after joining the club in the summer, missed training on Friday and did not travel with the squad to Bradford on Sunday.

His absence from the session at the club’s Liddington base was the latest in a string of misdemeanours which have plagued Ranger’s stay in Wiltshire, as well as the rest of his career, and it’s proved to be the tipping point, with Town now ready to bring the forward’s time at the County Ground to an end.

Ranger is due to go on trial in Newcastle on January 20 on a rape charge, which he denies, but Swindon look ready to get rid of the frontman before his court date.

A meeting is understood to have been scheduled for Thursday, 24 hours after Town face Crawley Town in League One - a match Ranger will not play a part in.

After taking a leap of faith in drafting the tearaway in on a one-year deal in August, Swindon feel let down by the number of times Ranger has missed training. Misfortune appears to have followed him around off the pitch, as well, and on Christmas Day Ranger tweeted a picture of his Range Rover after it was involved in an accident.

While the Robins’ striking options may be increasingly limited, Power and manager Mark Cooper have had to take action after Ranger’s antics negatively affected the rest of the Swindon dressing room, with some players questioning why their teammate could get away with actions they would not.

Therefore, Town are expected to discuss the cancellation of Ranger’s contract this week.

Assistant coach Luke Williams gave his thoughts on Ranger’s antics when he spoke to the local media yesterday.

He said: “Nile is having a difficult time with managing his life. We are trying to be as patient as we can with him and support him as much as we possibly can but we’ve got a job to do and a duty of care to the wonderful professionals that we’ve got that come in and do their work diligently day in, day out.

“At some point Nile has to get onboard with that or he has to take a step back and realise he needs to get one or two issues sorted out before he embarks on a career in football.”