ROBINS boss Alun Rossiter admitted he learnt some valuable lessons about the National League draft during Friday night’s narrow defeat at Lakeside.

Swindon went down 47-43 after trailing by 11 points at one point during the meeting but, speaking afterwards, Rossiter told the Advertiser he believes his side could have taken all the points had it not been for reserve Steve Worrall’s unavailability.

Rossiter replaced Worrall, who was riding for Premier League club Edinburgh, with Matt Williamson of Scunthorpe and while the Robins boss was pleased with his guest he admitted he maybe should have done things differently.

“I’m a bit disappointed in a way because maybe I learnt something of how the picking should go,” he said.

“When my number one reserve (Worrall) is out I’ve had to go and pick the 35th down the line because four or five of them above him couldn’t do it because of work.

“I was told I should have given them two months warning but they are on the list of riders and they are there to be picked, that’s the point. They’re either in it or they’re not, but maybe I’ve learnt something there.

“That aside I thought it was a fantastic performance and Matt (Williamson) did alright in fairness to him.”

Rossiter is looking forward to seeing what Worrall can do in a Robins suit and also believes he will soon get the best out of local rider Darryl Ritchings.

“We’ve not seen Steve yet but hopefully he will be up scoring seven or eight points a meeting during this year,” he said.

“He would have scored a minimum of five or six at Lakeside because he likes it there and that could have been the difference.

“I need to work on Darryl (Ritchings) and try to get a bit more aggression and bite in him, but we’ll get there, I know that.”