Mark Cooper in pole position for Swindon job

Mark Cooper has emerged as the new 2/1 favourite (Sky Bet) to become the new Swindon Town Manager. The Robins' caretaker boss replaced Paul Tisdale at the top of the standings on Thursday and now could be set to land the job on a permanent basis.

Cooper suffered a 1-0 league defeat to Peterborough in his first match in charge, although his side bounced back on Tuesday with a 1-0 victory over Torquay in the Capital One Cup. The Robins have been drawn away to QPR in the next round of the competition, while they host Stevenage at the County Ground in League One on Saturday. Sky Bet have priced Swindon as the 4/5 favourites to register their first three points of the campaign, whereas the visitors can be backed at 100/30 to come away with the win.

Cooper started his managerial career at Tamworth, before moving to take charge of Kettering Town and then Peterborough. In 2010 he became the new boss of Darlington, which was followed by short stints at former club Kettering and most recently AFC Telford United, with whom he left in March this year to become Kevin MacDonald's assistant at Swindon.

Swindon's pursuit for MacDonald's successor has been a relatively lengthy one, with a month passing since his unexpected departure in mid-July. The Robins have been linked with the likes of Glenn Hoddle, Les Ferdinand, Tim Sherwood and most recently Exeter boss Tisdale, who has now drifted to 5/1 in the betting, with the former Exeter gaffer Alex Inglethorpe priced at 5/1 and Dennis Wise priced at 10/1.