THE PRICE of experienced heads at Swindon Town may be too costly as County Ground chief Luke Williams keeps faith in the current model.

Roll back 23 years and you’ll find one of Swindon’s oldest squads, with an average age of 29.3 years during their time in the top flight under John Gorman.

Now, Swindon have the youngest collection of players in the league with an average age of 22.7 years, Coventry City the next closest with 23.1.

While Williams has admitted that he would ideally like to add some more seasoned pros to his side as they struggle for form ahead of their trip to AFC Wimbledon this afternoon, it doesn’t fit in with the ‘project’.

Instead of bringing in veterans, whose value depreciates quicker than driving a car from a forecourt, Williams, alongside chairman Lee Power, is more interested in bringing in young players to develop and sell on for a profit.

That has led to Swindon reportedly being in the black financially but also has them lying precariously close to the drop zone in League One.

“What we have got at Swindon at the moment; we are trying to do several things,” explained Williams on BBC Wiltshire.

“I think many of the players are a potential asset to the football club, who can develop into something more than they are at the moment, and they will.

“I think if you want to have a squad full of the (older) players who have a bit more experience and, physically, a few more years’ development behind them, there’s probably a huge price tag that comes with that.

“At the moment, we have got a very good model that makes Swindon Town football club self-sufficient.

“Of course there are, at times, drawbacks to every project.

“I completely understand the project as a whole and I am here to try and help and support these players to grow into the players we are talking about.”

However, Williams’ insistence on sticking to the system does not mean that the club’s ambitions are sacrificed.

Despite their lowly league position, he is still keen to turn their fortunes around and mount a challenge up the league, starting this afternoon.

“If you speak to the staff and the players, we are desperate to get promoted,” he added.

“The league is so incredibly tight, things can change in one week so drastically.

“That stage certainly isn’t upon us at the moment and we are certainly doing everything we can to try and get promoted this year.”

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