Tyreece Simpson is the cover star of this Saturday's edition of 'town,' Swindon Town's 2021-22 Official Matchday Magazine.
The Reds play host to Colchester United this Saturday at The County Ground - 3pm Kick-off - and fans can now download our Official Matchday Magazine online for £2.
Saturday's edition of 'town' features an exclusive interview with striker Tyreece Simpson, and you can read a snippet of that chat below..
Tyreece, before we get into the bread and butter of recent results and performances, you have had a really interesting journey up until this point so, in your own words, could you take us through your path to Swindon Town please?
"I've always played sport, I've always loved sport and throughout school I was playing sports at different age groups. I started playing Sunday League Football but I didn't really seem to be going anywhere professionally, so Langley came in and offered me a scholarship there to play Rugby. I started to play Rugby, I was fairly good at it and I got picked up by Leicester because Langley was linked to Leicester at the time. We had a school football tournament called the Playstation Cup and I played in that, did well, got scouted from there and then I went on trial with Man City, Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton.
"Those trials went well and I got asked back to City a couple of times but the coach there wanted top, top players and not average players, although one of the coaches really liked me and recommended that I went to Ipswich to polish my game up, and here we are."
Your journey is a real inspiring story because it proves to kids up and down the country that if you want to play professional football, there is a pathway if you are willing to put in the work and not give up at the first hurdle, right?
"People say it all the time that you shouldn't stop chasing your dreams, but I am the prime example of what can happen if you keep going and refuse to give up."
Back to the present day, then, and you are on a season-long loan deal from Ipswich Town, so what first attracted you to make the move to The County Ground?
"To be fair, at first I didn't know much about it and I found out on the Saturday that I was on the move, but I then found out that Swindon were interested and I immediately saw it as the perfect opportunity to go and show people what I can do. The club is a big one, it is very big for League Two and I'm delighted to have taken my chance to come here."
How have you found life at SN1 so far under the coaching staff and what is a new-look team?
"I really enjoy being part of the turnaround here, and the Gaffer and the rest of the coaching staff are working me well. I've needed that to help me improve my game further, and I've really settled in well with the boys."
Enjoyed that? To read our chat with Tyreece in full, download Saturday's edition of 'town' RIGHT HERE for just £2
There will also be hard copies of our Official Matchday Magazine on sale from the STFC Store and outside the ground prior to kick-off on Saturday for £3, with each copy coming with a free pull-out poster of our 2021-22 team poster!
Get your tickets for Saturday's game against Colchester United right here!
