Swindon boss Luke Williams says the club is "back to the fans now"

Swindon manager Luke Williams has stated that the club is "back to the fans" now, even if it may not seem that way at times.

Williams was taking part in a fans' phone-in to BBC Wiltshire radio along with his assistant Ross Embleton where, towards the latter part of the Q&A he was quizzed on the controversial structure of the club.

"The club in recent years (pre-Lee Power) has been in the grip of one wealthy owner and when that person leaves, if they decide they have had enough of the football club and they walk away, they leave the club in a very precarious position with lots of debt and huge wage bills and so on.

"The club is more back to the fans now than it has been in recent years. I know it doesn't always feel that way but this club now runs itself and it is able to do that through fantastic players that are given a service to the club.

"For me and you, I am sure we share the same feelings. We want to be able to keep our best players for a bit longer and really mount a campaign to get out of this division.

"The chairman has been able to put this club into a position where we no longer carry huge debt, we are no longer reliant on a sugar daddy.

"The club has existed for a very long time and during that period no-one has ever purchased the training ground, that has now been done. The club is now much more in the hands of the fans and the people that love the football club.

"I am very, very confident that in the near future we are going to put together that team and nurture that team that will get us out of this division and we will take those players to the next level with us."

The question came about from the Swindon fan who called in as such players like Wes Foderingham, Massimo Luongo, Louis Thompson, Ben Gladwin, Nathan Byrne and Nicky Ajose have all been sold to clubs in higher divisions in recent years.

Williams' quote of the club being "back to the fans" may also cause a stir, given that chairman Power been the subject of controversy during his tenure, no more so than when he re-charged non-season ticket holders for Swindon's re-arranged derby against Bristol Rovers when the original match was called off.