Former Reading FC academy player Pierce Sweeney has left Swindon Town, just 24 hours after he joined the League Two side.

The defender put pen to paper on a move to the County Ground, signing a two-year deal at the club.

The Robins subsequently announced however that Sweeney had left the club by mutual consent the next day.

In a statement, the 26-year-old said: "I would like to thank Swindon Town FC for the opportunity to be part of the club, however, due to family circumstances at this current moment I am unable to fulfil relocating to be part of the team.

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"My family and I have thought about this decision and feel our commitments require us to remain in Exeter for the foreseeable future. I am grateful to the chairman, Lee Power for allowing this to happen.

"I wish all the fans, players, and staff a successful season."

Jonny Leighfield, Swindon Town reporter at the Swindon Advertiser, has given a scathing response to the news of Sweeney's departure.

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"The level of uncertainty at the club at the moment is as bad as I can remember," said Jonny.

"There is no CEO, no manager, barely any coaching staff, just eight players, and pre-season has been pushed back because the club is not currently able to function properly.

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"One of the two players to have signed this summer, Pierce Sweeney, was a professional at the club for just a day before terminating his contract likely due to said uncertainty.

"There is a new owner waiting in the wings but the deal to transfer the shares is taking far longer than it should.

"Whose fault that is can be debated, but a resolution needs to be found soon or this situation may become even worse, which is barely possible."