SWINDON Town’s second-year scholars will find out whether or not they have earned professional contracts at the County Ground in the “next two or three weeks”, according to manager Mark Cooper.

Four members of the club’s academy are waiting to hear if they have done enough to secure a future in Swindon beyond the duration of their scholarships. Defenders Salvyn Kisitu, Curtis Da Costa and Matty Jones and midfielder Liam Walsh will all discover their fates by the end of next month.

Walsh and Jones have both enjoyed being part of the senior Town squad on matchdays, while Kisitu spent a spell on loan at Banbury United earlier this term to gain relevant experience.

Cooper did not indicate which players may or may not get pro deals, but he stressed that telling any young player that their time at a club is up is “the worst part of the job”.

“We’ve had meetings,” he told the Advertiser. “We’re monitoring the second-year scholars and they’ll be getting told pretty soon. It will be in the next two or three weeks.

“That’s the worst thing – telling the young boys that they’re not going to be kept on – that’s probably the worst part of the job.

“You have to be honest with them and tell them. In spells they’ve done okay but you’re not looking at the team coming through when you’re producing players and developing players, you’re looking for one or two nuggets.”

Meanwhile, decisions are also due on the first-year pros currently on Town’s books whose contracts expire at the end of the season.

Connor Waldon, Alex Ferguson, Aaron Oakley and Mark Francis are all hoping for new deals, with Cooper saying: “The first-year pros, and the majority are out on loan, need decisions made about them as well.

“They may not be ready yet and they may need a couple of years playing out on loan at places like Gloucester or Chippenham to get them ready for when we need them.”