DION Donohue was not able to play for Swindon in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Mansfield Town due to the FA rejecting the defender’s registration forms with the club, according to manager Richie Wellens.

The Town boss revealed post-match that Donohue had been set to start at the weekend after signing a deal until the end of the season midway through last week, but due to the FA’s decision to block the move, the 26-year-old was unable to do so.

Wellens said the club will appeal the ruling, and the 39-year-old is confident that once Town put their case forward, the matter will be resolved in the Swindon’s favour.

Clarifying the situation regarding Donohue, Wellens said: “We have signed him.

“We’d done all of our shape and tactical work with Dion involved at left back and Rob Hunt at right-back during the week.

“But I got a call late last night from Ray Murphy (club secretary) saying there was an objection by the FA because of the gap between his contract ending after Cheltenham – the first FA Cup game – and us re-signing him.

“The FA didn’t accept his registration, hence why he couldn’t play.

“But we hope those circumstances will change once we put our case forward to explain why there was a delay – hopefully Dion will be available for the Grimsby game.”

If and when Donohue is officially registered with the club, the 26-year-old would not be the only player in the current Town squad with a chequered legal or injury history.

Players such as Luke McCormick, Lloyd Isgrove and Zeki Fryers could all be playing at a higher level had certain events not transpired earlier on in their professional careers.

And with an eye on prospective signings that will boost the quality in Town’s squad come January, Wellens says he would not think twice about bringing certain characters into the team as long as they get their head down and work hard once they are through the door.

He said: “I think I’m good at managing players that have had flaws earlier on in their careers or things haven’t quite gone their way.

“As long as they are a good human being and they’re professional, that’s fine.

“Some lads at this level quite like a night out, and they can be a bit of a Jack the lad off the pitch – you can have one or two of them, but it’s important we don’t get too many.

“Character is a big thing, but also personality.

“Paul Caddis and Anthony Grant are great examples – every time they step out onto a football pitch, you see their personalities.

“You can see they’re winners and you can see they can manage games, so we also take that into account.”