FROM A JUKEBOX JIVE TO A SURVIVAL QUICKSTEP

MARK ROBINSON used to collect jukebox royalties from pub landlords in London so battling relegation from

League One holds no fears.

The AFC Wimbledon boss, who has been in the job for only seven weeks, faces a crucial clash against fellow strugglers Northampton today in a bid to stave off the first relegation in their short history.

Robinson joined the Dons in 2004 as a volunteer coach of their Under-9s and has since been Head of Youth, Academy manager, Centre of Excellence manager and first-team coach, among other roles at the club.

Before that, he worked collecting royalties from pubs in south London – and he reckons handling landlords was the perfect training for being a coach or manager. The Dons boss (left) said: “There were some real characters. They’d try to test your mettle, intimidate you, and you had to hold your ground, but you also had to build a rapport with them.

“I once went into a pub in Brixton and the landlord said he was going to chop me up if I didn’t get out. Within an hour, I’d walked out with £600 in royalties and he’d invited me to a reggae night! You had to get them talking and then they realised you were there to try and help them. It was great training in learning how to deal with people.”

Robinson, whose team have lost only one of their last six games, is adamant that the Wimbledon job is no stop-gap for him. “I told the board when I got the job I didn’t want to do a sticking-plaster job here,” he said. “I want to build something. We have no intention of going down. There are still 11 games left. If we keep performing like we have, the wins will come.”