Fitton: Malpas will prove his worth this summer

10:22am Thursday 24th April 2008

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Andrew Fitton believes the old boys club will prove invaluable for Swindon Town this summer as manager Maurice Malpas taps into his address book.

The Robins chairman says his manager has been scouring the country watching players on his pre-season shopping list but also believes old friends and teammates will be priceless.

"People underestimate the contacts Maurice has," said Fitton, who is in Beijing on business.

"He has come down from Scotland for his first job in English football but when you look around the country with people he might have played with, there are a lot who are still in the game.

"Who is the head of youth at Manchester United? Brian McClair and Maurice played with him.

"There is a very strong ethic between all the managers and coaches to let each other know about players coming available.

"Those who might not be good enough for Manchester United, Blackburn or Everton might be good enough for us."

But, with Malpas close to revealing the players he will release, Fitton has warned there will not be a huge influx in the summer.

"When you boil it all down there will be a list of no more than ten and we are unlikely to get all of them," he said.

Fitton has been happy with the mini revival of Town, who travel to Gillingham on Saturday, after back-to-back wins over Port Vale and Bristol Rovers.

He said: "Not everyone gets it right all the time, especially if it is someone else's squad.

"We could end up finishing just six points out of the play-offs."