MARK Cooper feels the scheduling of tonight’s game is unfair on both Swindon Town and Peterborough United but, given the prize on offer, the Robins manager would have been happy to have played the match on Saturday afternoon.

Town entertain Posh in the second leg of their Johnstone’s Paint Trophy southern section area final this evening, with the winner on the night set to secure themselves a place in the competition’s final at Wembley on March 30.

Though Cooper thinks neither team will be able to hit the top of their fitness and stamina levels, having been involved in League One action less than 72 hours previously, he has stressed that the reward for victory outweighs any frustration at when the game is played.

“To have that much at stake - and it’s the same for both teams - for the quality of the game there’s no way scientifically you can recreate the same effort two days later. It’s impossible,” he told the Advertiser.

“I’m not going to condemn them because they’ll have to pay us to be on the telly.

“It’s revenue that is much welcomed for us.

“Whatever way you dress it up, you’re 90 minutes from Wembley. It could be on the Saturday afternoon for me, after Friday night, and if I was playing I’d still make sure I did everything I could to get there. I’d play straight after the Colchester game.”