Fight fire with fire, demands Robinson

FORMER Rochdale player Rhys Bennett covers the right-hand side of defence at Field Mill

ATHLETIC'S players will be warned to expect another physical bombardment against Mansfield tonight.

Manager Stephen Robinson believes that his opposite number, Steve Evans, will have watched the Lincoln City FA Cup tie to glean a few clues about perceived weaknesses.

And there is one man who is guaranteed a place in Athletic's side - destructive midfielder Ousmane Fane, who was left out in a loss at Sincil Bank that the visitors desperately want to go some way to remedying tonight, with progress to the quarter-finals of the Checkatrade Trophy worth a £40,000 pay cheque.

"Anybody who watched the Lincoln game will think, 'you have got to be aggressive against them,'" said Robinson.

"If we don't match that aggression, we will get beat. It's as simple as that.

'PHYSICAL'

"We have been physical and aggressive in the last three or four games and Ousmane Fane really helps that because he would kick his own granny - so as long as he can stay on the pitch for 90 minutes, we are happy with that!

"Give me Ousmane giving me everything rather than people ducking out of challenges. That isn't what we are going to be about.

"I hope the players who are in the team tonight will have learned from Lincoln, because it was a massive lesson and we have all suffered since."

While Athletic's campaign in the league has faltered, the club's continued involvement in what is an unglamorous and widely maligned competition provides what Robinson feels could be for many of his players a once-in-a-career chance of getting to Wembley, with the final scheduled for Sunday, April 2.

"The Checkatrade Trophy is keeping our season alive at the minute and we are determined that it stays the case," Robinson added.

"Win and you are two games from Wembley - that's a massive incentive.

"I managed to get there and sometimes it is the pinnacle of players' careers. There are some boys who won't get to go any higher than that."