George Alston said that he feels that this Swindon Town under-18s group can go down in history as they prepare to face Bristol City in the FA Youth Cup.

Swindon are on the verge of a feat that only one side in the club’s history have managed by making the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup, as they take on local rivals Bristol City in the quarterfinals at Ashton Gate on Thursday.

Don Rogers and his youth side of 1963/64 are the only Swindon team to have ever made it beyond the last eight, reaching the final before eventually succumbing to Manchester United and George Best over two legs.

Alston said that he felt as though this group’s journey was not ready to finish at this point and that this group can continue to achieve special things.

He said: “It is a really good feeling to be classed up there [with the other teams in the quarterfinals], but I don’t think our journey is over yet.

“I really want to impress and make sure that our team goes down in history and just give our all and enjoy the journey while it lasts.

“When we spoke to Don Rogers, he was a really nice guy and he motivated us a lot.

“What he did with his team against that George Best team was remarkable and I think that as a team we want to repeat that.”

Every player in the under-18s has trained with the first team this season and 12 have played for them as well.

Alston was one of eight current academy players to have played against local rivals Reading in the EFL Trophy earlier this season and he expects that experience of the derby atmosphere in front of fans to help them against Bristol City.

He said: “I love playing in front of a crowd, I think that it drives me more, and despite our loss against Reading I learned a lot from that game about how much it means to our fans.

“Whenever I go out now, I always give my best and I feel like if my legs aren’t falling off by the end then I have not done enough.

“We are so pleased that fans can come, they help us massively, especially in the Manchester United game, it really gave us a massive boost to give them something good to watch, so I think that support will be massive on Thursday.”