The former chairman reveals some remarkable similarities between his tenure and the current regime

Those are the words of former Swindon Town chairman Andrew Fitton as he sits in a pub in Ramsbury to reflect on his time at the helm.

Fitton had grand plans to revive a club that was in the doldrums when his consortium took over, and was in it for the long haul.

But, as is so often the case, cracks started to form at the foundations of the building and instead of seeing his plans rewarded he ended up having to walk away and live with the regrets of what could have been.

“I am unfulfilled,” claimed the businessman, who was used to seeing his projects out to a satisfying conclusion.

“We knew what we wanted to do and we didn’t do it, so in that sense I am not satisfied with what we achieved in any way.

“I would have been fulfilled if we were in the upper half of the Championship now and I was still either on the board or chairman.

“In that sense, I will always have unfinished business.”

The Newcastle-born Manchester United fan, who jokes that he is famously the man who turned down the chance to buy Newcastle United for £3million during the late 80s, when owning a football club was not the flavour of the month it is now, got his first taste of chairmanship at slightly more humble surroundings.

Having got his coaching badges Fitton involved himself in coaching at local football club Ramsbury - a position that gave him a first glimpse of Charlie Austin - he was then called in to help Hungerford turn their fortunes around.

That was just the amuse-bouche of chairmanship for Fitton, though, and it wasn’t long before he was delving head first into the main course.

At the time Swindon were in the midst of another financial meltdown, with administration and a transfer embargo casting a dark shadow over SN1, and with debts just shy of £3million owed to HMRC.

Along with financial backers in the form of Betfair entrepreneur Andrew Black and Sir Martyn Arbib, Fitton and Jeremy Wray led the takeover and set about a deep cleanse.

“I’d looked at it a few times, I can’t remember how far back, but certainly around to the 1990s,” said Fitton.

“Then, I got a call saying they were in trouble again and they were going to go under if they didn’t make a payment to the Inland Revenue.

“I looked and wasn’t actually sure if anything could be done about it and then got really encouraged by a couple of chance conversations.

“Sir Martin Arbib, who just got in touch via Jeremy Wray and said: ‘by the way, heard you might be interested in doing something with Swindon, then I will help.’ “That made me think that maybe we could do this after all, maybe there is something there.

“We talked to a lot of people and Jeremy Wray brought Andrew Black into the conversation and that is how it all came together.”

However, looking back now, Fitton has identified a major flaw from the birth of his plan.

“If there was a mistake at the outset, and there was, it is that we weren’t all really on the same page,” he explained.

“I knew what I wanted to do and Martin was doing it just because he is a nice guy, but he had no view as to what he wanted it to become, he probably wanted to write a cheque and be done with it.

“Andrew Black thought that maybe we could turn this into something valuable, but that is a long haul.

“There was only a brief period of time when we were all truthfully on the same page and I regret that.

“It could have been very powerful if everybody had agreed the objective at the outset and said it is going to take us five years, or even ten years to get there.”

Fitton being interviewed in the Arkell's Stand

Listening to 58-year-old recall his vision for his time at the County Ground, it mirrors what current chairman Lee Power is attempting to do now.

Striving to balance the books, manipulating the loan system, finding rough diamonds to develop and sell for a profit, and a hands-on involvement in the recruitment process all ring true with what is currently taking place behind the scenes.

One of Fitton’s first jobs as chairman was to appoint former Motherwell boss Maurice Malpas at his first press conference, along with assistant boss David Byrne.

Despite stability off the pitch, Town suffered a downturn in form and had to rely on a run of three wins to keep them clear of the relegation zone as they finished the season in 13th spot.

However, Malpas’ time at Swindon was never going to be a long one when the next season got off to a bad start.

Having already gone out of the FA Cup to non-league Histon four days previous, a trip to the Withdean Stadium and a text message was to put the final nail in the coffin.

“I remember we went to a game in the Johnstone’s Paint (which was then the Football League Trophy) quarter-final, against Brighton at the Withdean,” said Fitton.

“I said how important it was, because as a money maker it is not a bad competition to be in.

“We went there and, on paper, we should have won but we were dreadful. That was the beginning of the end, really.

“Maurice was leaning against the dugout for the entire first half and I thought he had to do something.

“It’s the only time I have ever done this, but I sent him a text at half-time saying ‘sort this out’.

“In the second half he brought on Lilian Nalis, and we got some control of the game.

“I got a phone call from him the next morning saying ‘I just got your text because I don’t keep my phone on during a game, what were you meaning?’ “This is where he kind of buried himself, because he then said he only brought Lilian on because Craig Easton had a calf strain.

“Once a manager gets under pressure it is very difficult for them to come back from it, because they just kind of shrink into their shell and they don’t look for help.

“I don’t regret the decision to appoint him, I think I regret that we didn’t realise that he needed somebody with a bit more managerial experience around him.”

Malpas was sacked two days later and his assistant Byrne - who had been responsible for bringing in the likes of Simon Cox and Sean Morrison - was placed in charge while Fitton interviewed several candidates before appointing Danny Wilson on Boxing Day, after Town’s 2-1 win over Leyton Orient.

Wilson led Swindon clear of relegation before he sat down with Fitton on Friday, April 17, immediately before the 1-1 draw with Carlisle that secured them safety, to formulate their plan to get the board’s five-year target back on course.

“We spent a whole night going through the squad, how we wanted the team to play, what we needed,” said Fitton.

“It was all about building a strong spine. We wanted an experienced goalkeeper, we wanted an experienced centre back, and an experienced midfield player and that is why we ended up with the spine of (David) Lucas, (Gordon) Greer and (Jonathan) Douglas.”

Fitton (left), presents new boss Danny Wilson to the media alongside Nick Watkins (right)

Despite having that experience running through the side, Town were lacking in front of goal following the loss of influential Cox due to financial constraints, a decision Fitton still regrets.

A host of loan players came in but none hit the mark until Fitton was re-united with Austin.

Austin came in and hit the ground running, scoring a goal within three minutes of his full league debut in a 1-0 win at Carlisle, and, alongside a revived Billy Paynter, helped Swindon to their first play-off final in nearly two decades.

Having beaten the likes of Southampton and Leeds United on the road that campaign, Fitton felt that his team should have got promoted automatically, but pin-pointed a night in Essex which he feels cost them.

“We went to Colchester and that is the game that lost it,” Fitton said, remembering Danny Ward hitting the post before succumbing to a 3-0 defeat.

“I remember saying to Danny (Wilson), win this and you’ll get automatic promotion.

“I think if Danny has a failing, he transmits his own nerves to the players.

“After that it became a bit lacklustre.”

Swindon dug deep and beat the odds to book their place in the play-off final with a penalty shoot-out success over Charlton Athletic, with only 10 men after Gordon Greer’s dismissal. Fitton claimed at the time live on BBC commentary was never a red card; an opinion he later rescinded.

It was that red card that Wilson blamed for Swindon not making it into the Championship, Fitton, however, had a different opinion.

“We had this long period between the Charlton game and the final and I think that was terrible for Danny,” said Fitton, who had a tear in his eye when Millwall, not Swindon, went on to lift the trophy at Wembley.

“I said Danny don’t be afraid to be brave, but he was getting increasingly nervous and conservative. I think that was a great shame.

“I think if he had just gone with the team that finished the Charlton game we could have won that final, but he made a few changes.”

Greer was sold that summer to Brighton, another of Fitton’s regrets from his time in charge, as he did not fully understand the influence the Scottish defender had on the squad.

With the dressing room becoming fractured it was clear that Wilson’s second full season in charge was not going to bear the same fruits as the previous campaign, but the board’s indecision to get rid of the manager led to Fitton eventually paying the ultimate price.

“We knew Danny was in trouble earlier and other members of the board were reluctant to make the change,” claimed Fitton, having spoken to some of his colleagues about the situation following a 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth in January 2011.

“I was told by the other members of the board that I was wrong and the squad was far too good to be relegated, and I said there is no such thing as a squad too good to be relegated.

“You probably had to understand what the problem was and I think it wasn’t until a long time afterwards that I realised what the problem was, he didn’t have a leader in the dressing room.”

The commitment had gone from the board, according to Fitton, and the 58-year-old almost walked out on the club at an AGM that season after he knew he was going to be forced to sell Austin for a price, thought to be in the region of £1.6million.

Presenting ill-fated boss Paul Hart to the media, Fitton would resign after Hart took Town down

Fitton back-tracked on a theatrical exit but did eventually fall on his sword when Swindon, under the stewardship of Paul Hart were relegated at the end of that campaign.

“I don’t think the commitment was there from the other members of the group, not including Jeremy, by the way,” said Fitton.

“I stepped down as chairman for two reasons. I felt that I couldn’t get the support of the other owners at that point in time and thought Jeremy would, and because I felt I was responsible.”

Having had more than four years away from football, Fitton, who is still chief executive of United Wireless in the USA and travels back and forth to Texas during the year, still isn’t done with the beautiful game.

Whether that be in coaching at youth level or taking over the next club in trouble that he feels he can save is yet to be decided.

“I’m not very good at accepting these things,” he concluded.

“I’ve rationalised it now. There are lots of things to do in life and football is a big commitment and people underestimate just how many anti-social hours you put in.

“It is great at 10 o’clock on a cold night in Southampton when you have just won, but you have got to slog two hours home and get up the next morning and go again.

“Do I think that I am finished with football? No, I am not finished with football.”

NEXT WEEK, IN PART TWO OF OUR 'IN DEPTH WITH...ANDREW FITTON', WE LOOK AT THE TRUTH BEHIND THE CHARLIE AUSTIN DEAL, HIS VIEWS ON PAOLO DI CANIO AND THE MAN WHO BROUGHT IN SIMON COX AND SEAN MORRISON.