RIGHT back Mark Robinson will renew his rivalry with old foe John McGinlay when Chippenham Town entertain Ilkeston Town at Hardenhuish Park on Saturday 14 September.

Most Swindon Town fans have still not forgotten Ilkeston boss McGinlay's late challenge on Robinson during the first leg of the club's Coca Cola Cup semi final against Bolton Wanderers at the County Ground in 1995.

Robinson's reaction to the tackle earned him a red card and saw him suspended from the second leg, in which Bolton scored three late goals to deny Town a trip to Wembley.

An ever-present in the Bluebirds side so far this term, Robinson insists any problems between former Scotland striker McGinlay and himself are firmly in the past.

He said: "I had a little bit of a pop at him in the heat of the battle. It was a nasty little tackle that John was prone to making in his time as a player.

"I gave him a clip and got sent off. The tackle itself went unnoticed because the ref was up the other end of the pitch, but the linesman saw me clip him and off I went.

"But you can't bear grudges in this game and it is not even an issue between us now. I've spoken to John since then and we both understand these things are done in the heat of the moment."

Robinson could also come up against former Town team mate Mark Walters, who will play for Ilkeston this term as and when his coaching commitments at Aston Villa allow.

Walters did not feature in the 2-0 win over Moor Green that saw Ilkeston move off the bottom of the Premier Division table on Tuesday night, but could return to the squad to face the Bluebirds.

Said Robinson: "It will be good to see Wally. We had some good times together at Swindon. I was surprised when I saw he was playing for Ilkeston because he must be 37 or 38 now.

"He's obviously been a great player in his time and hopefully I'll have seen all of his tricks at Swindon.

"It is a little bit more low key than what we are used to, but pride is still at stake and I'm sure we'll both be trying to put one over on each other."

Robinson, who faced ex-Town team mate Bobby Howe when Havant and Waterlooville visited Hardenhuish Park last night, is pleased with the way his body is coping with the demands of the Dr Martens Premier Division.

Chippenham have played two games a week for the past month, but the groin injury that forced Robinson to quit the professional game has so far posed few problems.

Said Robinson: "At the moment I'm okay. I can't train inbetween games but the training has been pretty low key at the moment anyway because of the number of games.

"I'm enjoying it. The lads all know what each other is about and we're going in the right direction."

Ilkeston boss McGinlay masterminded a 1-0 win for Gresley Rovers at Hardenhuish Park last season, but believes his side face a tough examination on Saturday. He said: "We had a good result on Tuesday but we've had a sticky start. We're playing well but aren't getting the results.

"We'll not kid ourselves, Chippenham will be the favourites to win. They've had a good start and we've been mediocre."