REGULAR Premier League referee Kevin Friend will take charge of Swindon Town's League Two clash against Mansfield at the Energy Check County Ground on Saturday.

Friend is named as the official for the meeting with Steve Evans' outfit, which comes four days after Town boss David Flitcroft again took aim at the standard of officiating in the EFL's bottom tier.

Flitcroft has spoken out several times this season over the refereeing at League Two level, the decisions of Darren Bond during Tuesday's 2-1 defeat at Accrington Stanley against provoking his ire.

Bond awarded Stanley a first-half penalty for an apparent trip by Matt Taylor on Accrington captain Sean McConville and although he later awarded Town a spot-kick for a foul on substitute Paul Mullin, he also red-carded Town's Kellan Gordon after an altercation with McConville, who was shown yellow for his part in the same incident.

“What they do for the live football games is put the best refs on. Why don’t they put a League Two ref on and show the world what we have to put up with as League One and League Two managers week in, week out,? said Flitcroft on Tuesday.

“Don’t put a professional one on because we are not dealing with professional ones. See what the Premier League teams think about having that sort of referee.”

His Town appointment is part of a weekend double-header for Friend, who will be the fourth official at the Premier League fixture between Southampton and Liverpool at St Mary's.