Karl Robinson admits he ‘cannot wait’ to take on rivals Peterborough United this weekend, in a crunch Sky Bet League 1 clash.
The Dons and their Cambridgeshire opponents haven’t met at London Road since the infamous League One Play-Off Semi-Final back in 2010 where, despite taking a 3-2 lead into the tie, Karl Robinson’s men fell to a 2-0 defeat and missed out on a place in the final at Old Trafford.
The Posh subsequently won promotion with a convincing win over Huddersfield Town a week later, but after spending just two seasons in the Championship Darren Ferguson’s side are back in English football’s third tier and back in League battle with the Dons.
Robinson spoke to the media ahead of the game this Saturday and the 32-year-old confessed the exciting match-up was the first one he looked for when the fixture list was released back in June. He said: “I cannot wait. As soon as the fixtures came out I ran my finger down the list looking for it – it’s the one we all look for.
“I missed not playing them last year. I was brought up in a City where there are derbies and when I was a kid I was looking to see when Liverpool would play Everton. I love derbies, it’s what we thrive on and this is a derby.
“It’s not a ‘normal’ game, obviously, but we have to treat it like it’s another fixture. If I treat this any different it means I don't treat the other games with the same amount of respect. Every game gets an equal amount of respect from me and this one’s no different.
“It’s got a lot on it for the fans but I think our fans will know there hasn’t been a game where we haven't given 100 percent, so they know we’ll put the exact same amount of effort in on Saturday.”
