SWINDON Town manager John Sheridan said speculation surrounding the future of Scott Twine is simply ‘paper talk’, but the Town boss would not be drawn on whether the club had opened contract negotiations with the midfielder.

Last week, assistant manager Tommy Wright suggested Town had begun talks with Twine and his representatives over a new deal, but when asked to confirm if that were true, Sheridan did not give a definitive answer either way.

Newport County manager Mike Flynn said his side had made a bid before pulling out following their suspicions that Championship clubs would be going in for the 21-year-old.

Luton Town were said to have strong interest in Twine, but Sheridan denied Swindon had received any formal bids from any club.

Asked to confirm whether Wright’s statement about the club starting contract negotiations was true, Sheridan said: “He’s a young player, he’s a Swindon player and there are one or two people talking about him.

“But he’s got to come and impress me now – I’m the manager and I’m the one picking the team. Just because he did well at Newport doesn’t automatically mean I’m going to pick him.

“I don’t get caught up in all this – it’s only potential, it’s only one or two people talking. We’d like to keep him, we’d like to get him tied down to the club because we want him to do well here.

“But he’s only been here two games. I don’t get caught up with all the speculation. It’s about him performing, and if he’s performing well you’re going to get clubs watching him.”

Sheridan likened Twine’s situation to his own playing career, saying the excitement among young strikers can sky-rocket during a purple patch.

When asked to confirm whether Town had received any formal bids for their young star, Sheridan said they had not.

“If he’s not playing well, next week, no one will be talking about him,” said Sheridan.

“It’s up to Scott, we would like to keep him. He’s a Swindon lad, he’s a Swindon supporter. More than anything, I’m sure he wants to do well here, and I want him to do well here.

“If he’s playing good football, things will take care of themselves. No club has come to me this window, it’s just all paper talk.

“I’ve been there when I was 18 or 19 and scoring. People talk about you, but behind the scenes, no one is after you – it’s just paper talk.”