Swindon boss Ben Garner admitted he nearly substituted Harry McKirdy before the maverick forward set up the goal that secured his side’s 2-0 win over league leaders Forest Green

McKirdy had given Swindon the lead with a volley before Ipswich loanee Tyreece Simpson put the game beyond Rovers.

Garner said: “We were talking about taking him (McKirdy) off and then he popped up with a bit of magic

“Harry McKirdy is an outstanding talent – he just needs to be loved and he is loved here.

“He is a character and we embrace that, we want people to be comfortable with who they are.

“He’s an extrovert who puts a smile on people’s faces He’s always cracking jokes and telling stories.

“You dress how you want to dress. He’s got some great hoodies and a bucket hat that I am told is very trendy. We are not going to try and change anyone.

“And I am delighted for Tyreece to get that goal because he had a perfectly good one disallowed in the first half.

“It was disappointing because we had good momentum. I’ve seen it back, it’s not a foul.”

Garner added: “The work on the training ground this week laid the foundations for that win. The attitude of the players, their work rate and their application was outstanding all week.

“That gives you confidence all week as a head coach going into the game – you’ve seen how hard they’ve worked and the preparation they’ve done.

“I sensed in the dressing room they were in a good place before the game – to a man, they were outstanding.”

Forest Green boss Rob Edwards took it on the chin as Rovers fell to defeat for only the second time this season.

He said: “I can’t complain, we will learn from it and move on. I’ve challenged the players to go on another unbeaten run and give me a reaction like they did when we lost our only other game 2-0 at home to Port Vale.

“Both teams had similar threats and it was two good teams. We had five clean sheets in a row  before today and we were going to concede at some point.”