JERRY Yates knew where his short-term future lay minutes after exiting the County Ground following his first face-to-face meeting with Swindon Town boss Richie Wellens.

It started with dialogue between Wellens and members of management at Rotherham. That quickly translated into text messages between Yates and his new boss before a deal was promptly agreed after the pair met at SN1.

Wellens’ positive playing philosophy and hard-working approach to training and preparation has clearly won over the 22-year-old forward.

And with less than a week remaining until Town play Brimscombe & Thrupp in their opening pre-season friendly, Yates is already relishing the task of playing in an environment that is completely new to him.

He said: “Richie (Wellens) has made it clear he wants promotion, and that’s what I’m hoping for.

“I wanted to get away from home so I can knuckle down on football. Hopefully moving to Swindon allows me to do that.

“As soon as I walked out of my meeting with Richie, I knew I wanted to play here. He left a good first impression.

“The hard work starts now, and I’ll look forward to our pre-season games. We have plenty of them to get fit, and I’m excited to meet all of the fans.”

Yates spent last season on loan at Carlisle – but he was held to just seven goals in 36 appearances.

It could be argued that playing in a position that doesn’t come naturally to the 22-year-old restricted his progress at Brunton Park.

Playing in a left wing-back role, the Doncaster-born forward was also hit by a series of niggling injuries – which forced him off the pitch early more than once.

Aside from his issues, Carlisle’s 4-0 victory at the County Ground in November – Wellens’ first game in charge – does remain pressed in his mind.

He said: “Swindon is a club with ambition that wants promotion from League Two.

“I remember playing here last year, Swindon started off well – I thought we were in for a beating.

“But once the first goal went in, the game changed.

“Things are different this year, though.”