SWINDON Robins team manager Alun Rossiter believes his side have done the hard part in their bid to qualify for the SGB Premiership final but insists nothing is being taken for granted.

The Robins bagged a 46-44 victory away at Poole Pirates in last night’s semi-final first leg and will take a two-point lead into the second leg back at the Abbey Stadium on Monday, September 25.

After finishing the regular season top of the table and claiming number one seeding for the play-offs with it, Swindon lived up to that billing to triumph at Wimborne Road for the third time in 2017.

Although Rossiter expects to see a response from Poole in the return leg in a fortnight’s time, the Robins is happy to have momentum firmly behind his side.

“I would like to think we have done enough but I am sure Poole will have something to say about it. Back on our home patch, I am sure the boys will be fired up,” said Rossiter. “We have done the hard part but it is not over yet. Poole have got nothing to lose and everything to gain. We are going to have to be on our game at the Abbey.

“We just need to do the same again in the second leg and make sure we win.”

Last night’s victory was a stunning return to form for the Robins after their regular season programme ended with back-to-back defeats away at Rye House Rockets and Wolverhampton Wolves.

A superb sequence of 17 wins in a row had already secured Swindon top seeding for the play-offs before those losses and Rossiter was pleased to silence any doubters who felt his team’s form had dropped off.

“Everyone keeps going on about how the bubble has burst but if I am honest, I think the boys took their finger off the pulse once they knew we had the number one spot. They weren’t going to bust a gut,” said Rossiter.

“The two defeats gave them a kick up the backside and showed them they had to step it up again.”