THE chairman of Swindon Town supporters’ group Trust STFC has called for all fans to throw their backing behind Richie Wellens and hopes the new manager can bring some much-needed stability to the club.

Wellens’ appointment at the helm at the Energy Check County Ground on Tuesday saw him become Town’s third manager in the space of nine months.

The former Oldham Athletic boss takes up the reins following the dismissal of Phil Brown on Sunday, with the latter having only taken over the club himself back in March following the surprise resignation of David Flitcroft.

Wellens arrives with Town down in 17th in the League Two table having picked up only 21 points from their opening 17 league fixtures.

Town are seven points adrift of the play-off places with 29 games to play this term, so there is plenty of time for the new boss to lead the club back in the right direction.

Although many fans may have clamoured for a ‘big-name’ appointment to help turn around Swindon’s fortunes, 38-year-old Wellens was swiftly installed as the bookmakers’ favourite for the position and landed the role less than 48 hours after Brown’s departure.

With the new boss beginning his tenure with a home game against Carlisle United on Saturday, Trust STFC chairman Steve Mytton has urged unified backing from the club’s fanbase.

“Swindon Town is still a top job and despite our league position, I think people had hopes of a big-name – someone to get the fans excited again,” said Mytton.

“I didn’t think that was likely, and it’s not happened, but Richie Wellens is a young manager with a point to prove and hopefully fans will welcome him.

“It’s massively important for everyone that he gets his Town career off to a good start.”

With chairman Lee Power now on his sixth full-time manager – Mark Cooper, Martin Ling and Luke Williams have also held the position – during the five years since taking full control of the club, Mytton hopes Wellens can be prove to be an appointment for the long haul.

“We’ve had quite a bit of managerial change in the last few years, which obviously doesn’t help. Hopefully we can get some stability now,” said Mytton.

“It’s tight and a few wins will put us back in contention for the play-offs.

“Hopefully Richie can boost the players’ confidence, get some early wins and help us climb the table.”