Swindon Town striker Scott Twine has "got a belief in himself", according to manager Phil Brown

Swindon Town manager Phil Brown waxed lyrical about Scott Twine, following the academy graduate's first senior start on Tuesday night.

Twine, 18, made his first professional start and his home debut on Tuesday night when the striker was deployed as Brown's right midfielder in Town's 4-4-2 formation.

The youngster often darted inside though trying to create goalscoring opportunities for himself, and he linked up well with his fellow forward players, even supplying the pass for Kaiyne Woolery who assisted the first goal.

He gained experience on loan at National League South outfit Chippenham Town earlier on this season, after David Flitcroft continually decided to overlook the club's academy, failing to play a single graduate in a league match. 

Brown on the other hand gave Twine his chance to shine in his seventh game in charge and was delighted by his outing. 

"Strangely enough, I had an incident with Kellan Gordon when he bust his shoulder, his mum was sat behind me in the stands, she was shouting 'is he ok? Is he ok?' and I thought 'I need to meet these people'.

"So I got Scotty's parents in before the game, his dad came in at six o'clock and I told him to relax - he was a lot more nervous than Scott, if truth be known, and I told him to relax and enjoy it because this kid's got something.

"He's got belief in himself, a belief in his own ability. He'll have the ball in any situation that you throw at him. He didn't mind coming in on the left-hand side on his right foot and playing passes off strikers and linking up that way."

Twine was subbed in the 87th minute, to a standing ovation and chants of "Scotty Twine, he's one of our own" from the home support.

"Scotty could have crowned it off with a goal. What Scott's got is, he's got support of the group, he's got the support of the staff and I look at a player who's going to blossom, whether at this squad or at a higher level. 

"He's got good technique, he's got a great attitude [and] a great mentality towards hard work.

"He's got that confidence - bloody hellfire, what he lacks, I don't see it - maybe his physicality, but the likes of [David] Silva and [Lionel] Messi and these little fellas can grace the world stage - I'm not saying he's at that stage, but he didn't get knocked off the ball because he's brave and I can't speak highly enough of him.

"I hope he's got a great career to go onto. I've given debuts to lots of players - the Tom Cairneys of this world, and Fulham have turned down £25 million for him, but I'm more excited about this kid than I have been about some I've given debuts.

"There's lots to admire about him, I've got the experience not to just throw him in at the deep end."

Picture via Swindon Town FC