JORDAN Randerson is hoping to follow in the footsteps of a former teammate as he chases a professional deal in Samsung’s Win a Pro Contract competition.

The 17-year-old, who lives in Pewsham and plays for Chippenham Park and Chippenham Town U18s, is one of the final 88 players in with a chance of winning a one-year contract at Swindon Town or Leyton Orient.

Full-back Randerson was inspired by former Corsham Town man George Nash, who reached the final three of the first ever Win a Pro Contract competition in January 2011.

Randerson, a student at Wiltshire College in Lackham, was due to take part in the latest stage of the national competition at Staines Town FC last Sunday but with the wet weather intervening, he will now showcase his talents in his ‘quarter-final’ trial on November 18.

“I used to play Futsal with George for Chippenham and he told me all about the competition and that I should give it a go,” he said.

“He did really well to get to the final three and he’s playing for England Universities now. I want to try to live up to his expectations.

“Being a professional footballer is a dream and I thought that I had to give it a try. I played for Wycombe Wanderers when I was about six or seven but I don’t really remember it at all.

“Luckily, I was put straight through to the regional trials because of my football CV and was happy just to get that far.

“We had to go to Bristol and do loads of close control drills. The next one is a full 90-minute match and I’ve been picked at right-back.

“I was on my way there on Sunday when I got the phone call to say it was off and I was gutted but I’ve just got to get ready for a few weeks’ time now.”

The last 11 players in the competition will aim to impress Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio and Orient chief Russell Slade enough to earn a pro deal in December’s final.