GRESTY Road might not be a happy hunting ground for Swindon Town down the years, but manager Mark Cooper thinks his players should relish their visit to the Cheshire stadium.

Town have lost on each of their last three visits to Crewe Alexandra and haven’t won at Gresty Road for more than a decade, scoring just once since Stefani Miglioranzi’s strike handed the Robins all three points from a 1-0 win in April 2003.

The ground is also open to the elements but Cooper won’t accept that as an excuse, saying: “There are an awful lot worse places to play football. I can remember playing at Gresty Road when there was a hot water heater in the middle of the changing room and everyone used to fight to stand around there to get warm during the winter. It’s an awful lot better than it used to be and there are a lot worse places to play.

“If you can’t motivate yourself to play at some of the stadiums we get to play at in League One then you shouldn’t be playing.”

Crewe sit one place above the League One relegation zone but have won five of their last 11 matches and only Brentford have won at Gresty Road since November 23.

“They went to Port Vale and won convincingly. In this division, on any day any team can beat anyone,” said Cooper. “It’s not about top versus bottom. They’re fighting for their lives and if, on the day, they turn up and they really fancy it and we don’t they win.

“If we turn up and really fancy it and they don’t, we win - that’s as simple as it is.”