SWINDON Town have handed the managerial reins to Luke Williams on a permanent basis.

The 34-year-old has signed a five-year contract to stay on as Town’s head coach until 2021.

Formerly first-team coach at the County Ground, Williams took over as caretaker boss following the departure of Martin Ling in December and was appointed as manager until the end of the season in January.

In a statement released on Swindon’s official website, chairman Lee Power expressed his delight at tying down “the best coach I’ve come across in 25 years of football” and expects Williams to play a key role in realising his ambition of a “debt-free football club in the Championship”.

Power said: “I am really pleased that Luke is going to be our club’s head coach on a full-time basis.

“He has signed a five-year fixed-term contract, which I fully expect him to see out and be at the club for many years to come.

“Luke is an integral part of our project at Swindon Town. He is a fantastic coach – the best I've come across in 25 years of football.

“He has had to do it the hard way and has certainly served his apprenticeship. He buys fully into the club’s model and is the ideal man to lead the club forward.

“The reason Luke is ‘head coach’ and not ‘manager’ is because that is what he is – the head coach.

“No players will come into the club that Luke is not happy with but his main job is to coach the group and improve them.

"I don't want him not taking training on a certain day because he has to go and watch a Premier League Under 21s game, for example.

“I have Seamus Brady (sporting director) and a couple of trusted contacts that will help me recruit players for the club and Luke will always be part of that process. We will only bring those players in if Luke wants them.

“We are extremely confident that with the nucleus of this squad and with three or four additions, which should be done as soon as the window opens, we have got a realistic chance of challenging next season.

“Even if we don't manage to get into the play-offs this season; with us now finally having our own training facility, which we should be in by the end of the year and is something that has always been imperative for the long-term success of the project, we feel we are very much on track.

“We feel very excited that we can achieve our goal of having a sustainable, debt-free football club in the Championship.”

Williams, who is currently nominated for the League One manager of the month award for February, first arrived at Town as a highly-regarded coach in August 2013, shortly before Mark Cooper was appointed Swindon manager, having previously worked in a coaching capacity at Leyton Orient and West Ham.

Formerly Brighton & Hove Albion reserves and Under 21 coach, Williams was also previously linked with an assistant manager's role at Aston Villa.