FORMER Swindon Town striker Dave Mitchell wants to help his old club find the next Australian superstar.

Mitchell, one of Town's 1993 Play-off Final heroes, now lives in Australia as a scout for Dutch giants Feyenoord and was the man who unearthed Socceroo sensation Brett Emerton.

And while reminiscing with the Evening Advertiser about his role in Town's play-off victory over Leicester 10 years ago, Mitchell revealed £10 million-rated Emerton could have ended up at the County Ground.

After watching the brilliant midfielder blossom on home soil, Mitchell's first instinct was to recommend him to the Wiltshire club where he made his name.

But with none of his old contacts remaining at the County Ground, Mitchell pointed Emerton in the direction of another of his old employers Feyenoord.

Twenty-four-year-old Emerton is now ranked alongside Messrs Kewell and Viduka as Australia's finest footballing exports and leading European sides and scrambling for his services.

Mitchell said: "Brett was playing for me when I was coach at Sydney Olympic and he was clearly a great talent. I could have sent him to the Swindon but I haven't really kept in touch with anyone there.

"So in the end I recommended him to Feyenoord.

"They got him for next to nothing and since then they've turned down an £8 million bid from Newcastle and Liverpool and Arsenal have both expressed an interest."

Now Mitchell, 40, has volunteered to help Town boss Andy King by recommending suitable talent to the Division Two outfit. He believes Australia is an untapped well, bulging with potential stars.

Town have had a few Aussies in their ranks, the most recent being Danny Invincible and Gareth Edds.

Mitchell thinks King would be well advised to continue the club's links Down Under and he would be happy to help out.

"There are lots of good players here," he said. "Football's profile is rising all the time in Australia David Beckham is on every billboard.

"Some of these kids are good enough to play in the second division in England and a club like Swindon could pick up some real talent they may not turn out to be the next Brett Emerton, but they could do a job.

"I'd love to help out my old club so if they want any recommendations they know where to come."

Mitchell, who left Swindon two months after helping them to Wembley success in May 1993, also revealed he came within a whisker of a swift return to the club.

A clause in his contract allowed him to switch to a foreign outfit for just £20,000 and the forward opted for Turkish side Izmir.

But he confirmed that only FA red tape prevented him from rejoining his old teammates just three months later.

"I didn't enjoy my time in Turkey and I wanted to come back to Swindon.

"The deal was all but done until we discovered an FA ruling to say you couldn't rejoin a club within 12 months of leaving.

"It was a shame because I loved the club, but I ended up at Millwall and the rest is history."