BILLY PAYNTER presumably thought the deal offered him by Swindon to extend his contract was not acceptable.

When Andrew Fitton and Danny Wilson decided to call a halt to all contract negotiations while the promotion push gathered steam, Paynter was the only senior pro whose future was left up in the air.

After another two goals against Leeds on Saturday – that’s four against the Whites this season in the home and away routs – Paynter can legitimately ask for even more money when contract talks reopen at the end of the season.

Paynter looked anything but prolific in his first two seasons with the club, labouring to double figures each time, although his value as a foil to Simon Cox last season was priceless.

But now he is the main man up front, he has grown in confidence and his 25 league and cup goals are more than double his tally in the previous two terms combined.

What’s more, who would bet that he has finished scoring for the season?

Paynter has more than earned a new contract – however lucrative.

Meanwhile, Fitton has some other delicate negotiating to do.

He is reportedly on his way to Celtic soon and top of that meeting’s agenda must be the permanent signing of Simon Ferry.

Ferry is one of four loanees in the current first-choice Swindon line-up – Sheehan, Ward and Darby being the others. They are not our assets but what a much weaker team we would be without them.

Sheehan will almost certainly want to extend his stay whatever. I suspect Ward and Darby will be looking for Championship football at least next season to further their education.

If Swindon leap a division, perhaps Liverpool (Darby) and Bolton (Ward) can be persuaded to release their young stars on season-long loans in 2010/11.

If it is true, that our junior keeper Jamie Stephens, 16, is heading to Anfield next season, hopefully Mr Fitton has factored in a longer term stay at the County Ground for the immensely promising Stephen Darby.

What fun Swindon fans had at Elland Road on Saturday – ‘6-0 on aggregate’, ‘We’re going to play West Ham, you’re going to play Dagenham’ and best of all as the Leeds hordes fled the ground at 3-0 down, ‘Is there a fire drill’.

Okay, we were under the cosh for periods in the first half, but the vital first goal was Paynter’s, his second was a beauty, and Austin poached a fine third to leave most of the 27,000 crowd stunned.

Given there were only 200-odd Tranmere fans in the crowd, it was a healthy 9,500 turn-out in the County Ground for Monday’s comfortable 3-0 against the strugglers from the North West.

Tranmere pressed the self destruct button and Swindon did not need to be at their best to build up some more goal difference.

Momentum is really mounting now we have moved into second place and the visit to Colchester on Saturday does not look half as daunting as it might have down a month ago.

What a final game of the season the visit to Millwall is looking like. Let’s hope injuries and suspensions do not play a part. If the official club website is to be believed Gordon Greer must be mindful that he is one booking away from a short enforced holiday.

Finally, congratulations to Billy Bodin and Will Evans who have earned professional contracts at the club. The bar must have been set very high if the promising winger Matty Barnes and midfielder Mark Hartmann, in particular, did not make it.