SWINDON Town’s average age may drop again over the summer, according to manager Mark Cooper, who is already planning his summer recruitment drive.

Of Town’s current squad only five players are over the age of 25 – Jay McEveley, Ryan Harley, Darren Ward, Andy Williams and Dany N’Guessan – three of whom, Williams, N’Guessan and McEveley, are out of contract at the end of the campaign.

With owner Lee Power expected to take a slice off the wage budget once again in the off-season and the club continuing its pursuit of young, unrefined talent, Cooper has hinted that come the start of the new term there may be less experience amongst his ranks.

The Robins boss and his chairman have begun the task of identifying the players they feel will best fit into the model which is currently being implemented at the County Ground, with Cooper saying: “I don’t think we’d be doing our job properly if we didn’t start planning for next season and looking at what players may become available and fit into how we want to do things.

“We are where we are in terms of we’re not quite right yet. We’re still eighth in the league but we need to finish the season strongly so that we’re ready for next season.

“It depends on what we bring in to go with what we’ve got, we may be even younger next year. It will be difficult but that’s the way it is. We have to work with the players to try to make them better.”

Meanwhile, the four second-year scholars currently waiting on news of whether or not they have secured professional deals at Town – Matty Jones, Curtis Da Costa, Salvyn Kisitu and Liam Walsh – may soon know their fates.

Cooper told the Advertiser decisions on the quartet were imminent, saying: “I’ve got to speak to the academy manager and Jamie Pitman this week and start making decisions.”