Bignot pleased with Ameen's progress

Swindon Town assistant manager Marcus Bignot has been pleased with the progress of young striker Botan Ameen.

The Iraqi forward has been a regular for the U18s and has made one appearance in League Two this season as he came on as a substitute for Nnamdi Ofoborh in the 3-2 win against Cheltenham Town.

He impressed in his senior debut as he scored in the emphatic 4-0 Vertu Trophy win against Bristol Rovers.

Bignot has claimed that he’s been keeping a close eye on the academy and believes he is not far from making the step-up to the first team.

He said: “Botan’s very close and I know the manager has taken a liking to him. I’ve seen the academy a lot this year and will continue to follow him.

“I’m going down to QPR to see him in the FA Youth Cup and apparently, I’m on the comms with Callum [Knowles] so that will be an interesting evening.

“In terms of the academy, there’s some good players and it’s getting that balance, the manager loves young players, he loves academy homegrown players within the squad because supporters can have that connection with homegrown players.”

Ameen was an unused substitute in the FA Cup defeat to Accrington Stanley on the weekend which was his first matchday squad appearance since the 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur U21s that sent the Robins through to the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy.

Despite just the one fourth division appearance under his belt, he is always in conversation with playing again.

“The situation we’re in at the moment, I know he’s [Holloway] spoken about that, is knowing when the right time is but knowing Botan and how the manager feels about Botan, he’s always in the conversation with regarding the squad and players coming on, players starting so he can be pleased with what he’s showing at this moment in time.

“I’m sure when he gets the opportunity, he’ll be a breath of fresh air for us because he’s something we haven’t got.

“Danny [Butterworth] is of that ilk who can take players on with the ball and can go both ways and is exciting.”

Mark Kennedy was the manager who provided the promising forward with his debut in early October and if Ameen was to keep up his positive attitude and good form in the U18s, a second League Two appearance could be on its way.