MANAGER Richie Wellens says Swindon Town must be challenging for promotion to the Championship within the next three years.

With Town top of League Two and in pole position to ascend into a higher division come the end of the season, it is possible that Wellens will get his chance to progress the County Ground club’s fortunes even more within 18 months of taking the hot seat.

Though the 39-year-old is fully aware that this season’s job is far from over with 14 games to go, Wellens has a clear plan for both himself and Swindon in the coming campaigns and says promotion to the Championship is a must.

He said: “My timeline here is: within three years, I think this club needs to be challenging for promotion to the Championship.

“So, if I’m here for three years, I would like us to be in or around the play-offs for League One and trying to get promoted to the Championship – that’s my time scale.

“Where I go from there, you never know because first and foremost, I have to be successful at this football club.

“And then from there, you have to see what happens.

“But I think in three years, this club needs to be challenging for promotion to the Championship, definitely.”

And while Wellens has a clear plan on where he wants Swindon to end up, his idea for his own destiny is just as concrete.

The Manchester United fan has made no secret of the fact he would love to follow in the footsteps of managerial idol Chris Wilder and take over at his boyhood club, stating hard work – of which he claims to do more of than any other football boss – will take him at the very least into the Premier League.

Wellens said: “You have to have dreams, you have to have aspirations in order to push yourself.

“I don’t think there is another manager out there that works harder than me, so therefore if I put the work in then I need to try and reach for the moon.

“If I don’t reach the moon then hopefully I’ll fall a little bit short and still be able to manage in the Premier League – that has to be my aspiration.”