FOREST GREEN boss Mark Cooper has lampooned Lincoln City counterpart Danny Cowley’s supposedly scientific claims that Forest Green hold a fitness advantage ahead of Saturday’s match in the wake of an abandoned match.

While the Imps were climbing to third in League Two with a 3-0 win over Stevenage, basement side Forest Green saw their Boxing Day clash at Exeter City postponed at half-time due to a waterlogged pitch, with the score at 0-0. Cowley told Lincolnshire Live: “Forest Green’s game was abandoned so they only played for 45 minutes. “When you’re in a run of four games in nine days, I think that gives them an advantage going into the Saturday’s match.”

However, Cooper gave Cowley’s claims short shrift at today’s press conference. “A sports scientist now, is he?” said Cooper. “We played 45 minutes on a really heavy pitch and we haven’t been able to train because of the weather down here, so let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

The old National League rivals have no love lost between them. Lincoln won their first game 1-0 in September in a clash that saw an after-match bust-up between both sets of players, with Cowley accusing Forest Green keeper Bradley Collins of spitting at Sean Raggett. The Chelsea loanee was cleared by the FA.

“We try and conduct ourselves in the right manner, in every circumstance,” added Cooper. “They do what they do, a good football club, with good players and good fans.”

Watch Mark Cooper's pre-match press conference