Town boss Richie Wellens has spoken of his pride after one of his sons, Charlie, signed a professional contract with Premier League giant Manchester United. 

His younger son, Alfie, also progressed his footballing career by signing a new contract with the Red Devils at their academy for another two years.

Speaking to The Sun, Wellens said: "Obviously, I’m bursting with pride for my two lads.

“And getting into League One will mean my first promotion as a manager and, points predictions or not, I know we deserve to go up.

“Yet these are strange, difficult times and I have very mixed emotions.

“On the one side there is Charlie — who is a midfielder like I was — making giant steps towards what I never achieved at United and maybe making himself a big star.

“I made only one appearance for the first team as a sub in a League Cup game against Aston Villa back in 1999 — and that was a 3-0 defeat."

Reflecting on his time as a footballer, Wellens has put his lack of United appearances down to the wrong mentality.

He continued: “So I left for Blackpool the following year because I couldn’t break through — and in those days who could blame me.

“I was up against the likes of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Phil Neville.

“The problem was that while I know I had the ability, I also realise now I didn’t have the right mentality.

“I should have been tapping into what the likes of the other young players around me like Scholesy and Ryan were doing.

“But I didn’t have the same focus as them, not quite the same work ethic and I allowed myself to get frustrated when I should have been trying my best to follow their example."

After learning from his mistakes, and becoming a successful manager with Swindon Town, he believes he has the ability to help his two children progress further in the footballing world.

Wellens added: “Now I am determined to make sure I can help Charlie learn from my mistakes and try to help guide him towards becoming the success I never was at United.

“And the same goes with Alfie.

“Both of them have bright futures and it would be wonderful if, one day, they find themselves regulars, playing for the club we all support in the Premier League.

“So things are very exciting for them looking ahead. But for all the pride me and their mum and the rest of the family feel, on the other side the immediate future at Swindon is troubling me."

When it comes to the situation at Swindon Wellens added that he has concerns about the clubs future in League One. 

He told The Sun: “The club should be buzzing right now. Instead, there are meetings planned at which we might have to let go some staff.

“Had the season been played out and there was no coronavirus, we would have taken about £1million from our last five home games.

“Not only has that gone but we can’t sell season tickets for next season and that might end up costing us another £1m.

“I should be rewarding players with pay rises and new contracts, looking to build on what we achieved before the lockdown with new signings.

“Instead everything is in limbo and even planning for pre-season is on hold until we get absolute guidelines from the football authorities and the Government.

“We can hardly start throwing money at establishing ourselves in League One if we will be playing in empty stadiums next season.”

He added: “I have plenty of reasons to be cheerful, plenty to feel proud and thankful about compared to so many right now.

“I’ve always wondered what might have been for me had I shown the right attitude at United but now the family has two chances to maybe make that right.

“But that doesn’t stop me feeling badly for those who might lose their jobs, although we are working hard to find ways to stop that happening.

“I worry for players who might end up on the scrap heap, or on reduced wages.

“We should all have been looking forward to partying on a beach somewhere.