CLIFF Puffett is delighted that Town have emerged from 12 months of financial misery and now sees a bright future.

It will be a year tomorrow since Mr Puffett took over as chairman from Rikki Hunt. He now says that he can walk around the County Ground with a smile on his face.

Mr Puffett, who has remained at the club as a director under new chairman Terry Brady, said: "It was a time when the problems were getting very bad.

"We thought that the debt was £600,000 but it went up to £1.5 million in the space of two weeks.

"We had to go into administration and then it was a case of travelling the length and breadth of the country and trying to find investors.

"Terry has come in and now the situation is much more stable.

"It has been a rebuilding job and we've almost had to start from scratch. Terry has said that if we get relocated then we can invest some money in the team."

With the financial situation more settled, Mr Puffett, pictured above, believes the club's fortunes on the field will soon improve.

He said: "In pre-season there was a lot of hype around and a great deal of optimism.

"We have been rebuilding the squad and I think we have an outstanding manager in Colin Todd and he will do a great job in the future.

"Everyone knows how miserable I was looking this time last year but we had to save the football club and I take pride in the fact we managed to avoid liquidation. That was a great achievement and now we can look to the future.

"Early season results have not really come our way but this season has to be one of consolidation. If we can do that then we can make a real push to be promoted next year."

Former chairman Mr Hunt made his first trip back to the County Ground for the draw against Wigan.

He said: "I'm still in the situation where Swindon is the first result I look for and I went down to the Wigan game which I thought we should have won.

"I saw a lot of the old directors and I still keep in contact with people like Jim Quinn and Steve McMahon.

"I don't think I would have changed much because I remained loyal to people. I was often criticised for that but that's the way I am.

"I am glad things are going in the right direction and I think a new stadium would give the club a foothold in the town.

"Hopefully, we will be able to get some better results on the pitch as well."