WHEN you looked at the way Dave Robertson’s Peterborough side lined up at the County Ground you might have been fooled into thinking that he was trying to mimic Mark Cooper.

The 3-5-2 formation is one that has brought Town more success than failure this campaign and it looked as though Cooper’s counterpart was trying to respond by using the same technique.

However Robertson has used the system a lot during his time in youth football and believes, as shown by Swindon, it is a tactic that works in League One.

“Anyone who knows me, would know that my youth team that I have been working with this year have played that way all season,” the Posh boss told the Adver.

“So I definitely don’t want to emulate them (Swindon). It is a way of playing that I understand and a way of playing I have worked on for a long time.

“I think it gives you good attacking options but also, particularly in this league, it gives you players higher up the pitch so you can really go and press the opposition.

“For me it is a good way of playing, it gives us an attacking free-flowing style of play. With the right movement and the right players it is an excellent way of playing football and also developing and improving players.”

Cooper marked his 100th game in charge of Town on Saturday and Robertson has been impressed by the work of the former Peterborough boss but felt his side deserved to take something from the game.

“They are a good team and they have a good understanding of what they need to do.

“But we knew how we needed to play against them and I felt our players done that and made it very difficult for them,” he added.

“If I am honest I felt we did enough to get something out of the game but it was one of those where it wasn’t to be.

“Mark’s done a good job, it is his 100th game in charge today, and I suppose it depends on where the team go from the play-offs now.”