DEFENDER Josue Antonio has won a contract with Swindon Town through the Samsung Win A Pro competition.

Antonio, who currently plays for Staines Town, beat more than 5,700 entrants to land himself a deal with the Robins.

The 18-year-old made it through a series of regional trials and assessment days, before competing in an 11-a-side final at Leyton Orient’s Matchroom Stadium.

Antonio was one of two players selected by Town manager Mark Cooper to spend a three days of intense boot-camp training with the first-team squad.

He said: “It feels great to have won a professional contract, when I entered I never thought I’d get this far.

“When I was training I put in a lot of work and I was getting a lot of praise from the manager, I was thinking that ‘maybe he might pick me’.

“If I play my best this year I might be able to go on to do big things and get an extended contract for the club – that’s my aim.”

Antonio will sign his contract at the County Ground in June.

Cooper said: “I chose Josue as the winner because he is an extremely athletic young man with great physical stature for his age.”

“He has a lot of potential for development and I am looking forward to working with him."