SWINDON Town have blocked an official approach from Salford City to speak to boss Richie Wellens about the Ammies' vacant manager position, Adver Sport understands.

Initial reports on Monday evening suggested the Swindon manager was set for preliminary talks with Salford City prior to Town's FA Cup first round tie at home to Darlington this weekend.

However, in a tweet published by The Sun journalist Alan Nixon around 7pm, the League Two side had apparently seen their request to speak to Wellens' promptly rebuffed by chairman Lee Power.

Nixon first tweeted on Monday evening to say Salford's interest in the Town boss had now “moved up a level” and fans should “expect an official approach and chat by the weekend.”

The Sun journalist also said the Ammies were likely to invite Wellens up to Moor Lane for discussions in regards to potentially becoming their new manager before Saturday should their request to speak to the 40-year-old be granted.

Following the sacking of Salford’s previous boss, Graham Alexander on October 12, Wellens stated his loyalty to the County Ground outfit should not be questioned after rumours began circulating that the Mancunian was in line for a return to Lancashire.

Wellens said he had turned down four jobs since taking over at the County Ground and would not entertain any further questions on the matter as he was "sick of talking about it."

Meanwhile, the stories suggesting the former Oldham Athletic manager may well be heading back up north had appeared to die down in recent days.

However, with Wellens now odds on favourite with most bookmakers and reportedly Salford's number one target, the issue is expected to live on until an appointment is made.

The 40-year-old is expected to be in charge of Town for the club’s League One clash against Plymouth Argyle tonight (7pm kick-off).

In the pre-match press conference, Wellens was full of praise for his opposite number, Ryan Lowe and is predicting a fast-paced game that will see whichever team transitions best between defence and attack come out on top.

Wellens said: “I like Ryan Lowe – I really like his teams and the way they play.

“They’ll be open, they’ll be expansive and if you’re not switched on against them and you’re not good in transition, then you’ll struggle.

“We had two good performances against Plymouth last year, one at home where we drew when we were down to the bare bones and then obviously that great win away.

“We won’t change, we’ll try to pass the ball and try to open them up.

“When you play against Ryan Lowe’s teams, if you’re in the right positions and you transition quickly, you can hurt them.

“On the other side of it, when you lose the ball, if you’re not locked on they can get in on goal within two or three passes.

“The wing-backs stay really high and wide, they’re expansive, and in Cooper they’ve got one of the outstanding players in the division in terms of his delivery into the box.

“It will be a very, very good football match – the pitch is excellent at Home Park, so it will be a quick, high-tempo game.”