MARK Cooper knew from the first time he saw Ben Gladwin that the man they plucked from non-league had the talent to make it at Swindon Town, though the manager still does not know Gladwin’s best position.

The 22-year-old was picked up by the Robins from Marlow in November last year, initially signing on until the end of this season. That deal was extended this week in the wake of a run of form that has seen Gladwin come up with a goal and three assists in his last three games.

The Swindon manager is delighted that his man is coming good on the promise he has shown on the training ground. He is also grateful for Gladwin’s versatility but would like to nail him down in a set role.

“When he came in we saw within the first few days that he had remarkable ability, it was just trying to harness that and nurture it in the right way to get him where he is now,” said Cooper.

“There was a frustrating period for him where he couldn’t transfer it from the training pitch onto the big stage and he’s had to do that more mentally.

“Ben has shown he can. It’s only a small handful of games but he’s certainly shown he can do it and he has to keep doing it to cement his place in the team, and I’m sure he will.”

“If somebody has that tag that they can play in any position, then it is jack of all trades (scenario) isn’t it?

“What we don’t is a situation where it’s easy to leave Ben out because he’s not a definite midfield player or he’s not a definite wing-back. We do eventually want to nail him down to a position but at this moment in time his flexibility is fantastic for us.

“I don’t know (where his best position is). They all want to be a number 10 don’t they? They all want to be the focal point of the team that everyone goes through, but at the moment we’ve got really good players that can play in that position that are just ahead of him at the moment. He certainly gives us something where he plays.”