SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter has given a lukewarm reception to the new format that will be used in the Knockout Cup this season.

Details were released yesterday of the new rules involved, which include rejigged gate rules and man-on-man tactical rides, which Swindon will get their first taste of when they visit Peterborough in the first leg of the teams’ quarter-final tie on May 4.

And Rossiter revealed the new rules are not as different from standard regulations as he expected, describing the format as ‘flat’.

“You look at it and it’s not much different to the Swedish league,” he said.

“After all the hype it’s had, I think it’s a bit flat. I’m not against it, I just don’t think it’s radical enough.

“It’s a bit like the FA Cup in football, we’ve got to keep the competition but we probably should have left it as it was.

“It’s something different and we’ll have a look at it when we come to it. The league’s always going to be the focus for teams and for the fans anyway.”

Meanwhile, tonight’s meeting at King’s Lynn was postponed in late afternoon yesterday due to expected wet conditions.

The clash will now take place in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday, June 11.

A statement on the King’s Lynn website said yesterday: “Unfortunately the scheduled meeting at the Norfolk Arena this Wednesday between the Stars and Swindon has been postponed due to the rain.

“With the current wet conditions, and the weather set to worsen overnight, the club were left with no option but to postpone the meeting.”

Swindon boss Alun Rossiter backed the decision of the King’s Lynn promotion.

He said: “I’m not really surprised it was called off early because the forecast was horrendous. They reckon we were going to have a month’s rain in a day.

“I’ve got no problem at all with the decision.”

As no Swindon wheels are going to turn tonight, the Robins will next be in action tomorrow when they host Poole at the Abbey Stadium.

The Pirates have also enjoyed a strong start to the Elite League season, and are scheduled to face Wolverhampton tonight.

2012 KO Cup Format

A return to the traditional 13-heat format with alternating gate choice.

Team winning toss have choice in heat one. No fixed gate positions and no tactical rides (except for man on man heats).

Heat 14 is a reserve race as in heat two.

Heat 15 is a top scorers nominated race. Gate choice for heat 15 will be for the team trailing in the match, or the home team if scores are level.

The man on man tactical can take place when a team is eight and then 10 points down.

They can nominate a rider to undertake a match race against a rider nominated by their opponent. Should the losing team’s rider win the heat they score three points, should the leading team’s rider win then the scores remain as they were.

Gate choice is with the trailing team and is either inside or outside.

Only one man on man heat per rider per meeting and no man on man heats are permitted after heat 14.

In the event of a tie on aggregate over both legs, then man on man scores will be deducted to decide the winner, ahead of a replay if scores are still equal.