RICHIE Wellens believes Swindon Town belong above League Two level and is relishing the prospect of pushing the club forward after being appointed as the club’s new manager today.

Former Oldham Athletic boss Wellens was unveiled as the club’s new manager this morning after signing a contract at the Energy Check County Ground until May 2020.

The appointment comes less than 48 hours after Phil Brown’s dismissal following a below-par start to the season.

Town are currently down in 17th in the League Two table after winning just five times and collecting 21 points from their opening 17 league fixtures.

Swindon are currently seven points off the play-off places with 29 league games still to play, and Wellens has targeted climbing the table as quickly as possible in the hope of getting the club out of the fourth tier during his tenure.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Wellens said: “The club belongs above League Two because of the sheer size of it – and the supporter base is far too good for League Two too.

“But we are where we are, and we have to deal with that.

“I want to play football, I want to play the right way and be attacking and keep the ball on the floor, but my main aim is to get this club promoted.

“It is a big club at this level and we need to start climbing the table.

“The focus now is the next four to six weeks. The players have to impress me and show they can play the type of football I want to play.

“We are not in the middle of January, thinking that if we don’t act now, we could be in trouble.

“Sometimes you panic a little bit and rush into things. We don’t need to do that, we can take stock and evaluate things, but obviously still pick up results to climb the table in the meantime and then have a good go at it.

“The remit in my contract is to get the club promoted.”

Wellens oversaw his first training session as Town boss today before travelling north to watch Carlisle United – who will be his opening opponents at the County Ground on Saturday – in action in the Checkatrade Trophy.

The 38-year-old was impressed by what he saw from his new squad and believes there is plenty of talent at his disposal.

“It was good to get out there,” said Wellens.

“In fairness to all of the lads, their body language was very good and they were very energetic.

“At times, it was a little bit 100 miles per hour, which you expect as everyone is trying to impress.

“There is a lot of talent in the squad and players who we can look to improve, but the main aim right now is to climb up the table.”