NESTLED in the heart of the Cotswolds, it’s hard to believe the idyllic countryside surroundings of sleepy Forest Green can foster and synchronicity with the seaside town of Bournemouth.

But the two football teams share a brand of free-flowing football and could even be kindred spirits, according to boss Mark Cooper.

The League Two minnows go toe-to-toe with the Premier League outfit on Wednesday night in the second round of the Carabao Cup, with Cooper relishing the prospect of pitting his side against Eddie Howe’s side.

When asked about the similarities between the two, a jovial Cooper said: “Well, we haven’t got a beach, but listen there’s no right or wrong way of playing, we have a way of playing which people make a lot about. Bournemouth have an exciting way of playing and the thing I like about Eddie’s teams are when they go to the big guns they don’t really change and they go and attack and if they get beat they get beat – they stick to what they do.”

Rovers reached the second-round after a thrilling 5-4 penalty shootout at Lee Bowyer’s Charlton Athletic after holding the Championship outfit to 0-0 in 90 minutes. Cooper made eight changes for the tie and he’s expected to tweak his pack after this weekend’s game at Bradford City.

He revealed: “We have two teams in mind, one for last Saturday and one for Wednesday, which we have to do, but the boys that get the opportunity to play on Wednesday are playing at a Premiership team and they need to prepare and be ready, so we don’t get a pasting.”

Cooper has fond memories of Dean Court, now the Vitality Stadium. The Rovers’ boss played his part in a famous FA Cup game as player-manager of non-league Tamworth back in 2005.

The Lambs silenced the Poppies with the second- round tie 2-1, with Cooper pulling the strings in the midfield engine room.

Cooper recalled: "I honestly didn't think this was possible. I thought at the most, we might get a replay.

"We were a bunch of part-time lads who've had a real go, and got a bit of luck as reward for real hard work.

"We had to have a game plan, as we knew Bournemouth were a fantastic footballing team - if you let them play in good areas, they can hurt you.

"We decided we'd let them have the ball from the keeper until they were 30 or 40 yards from goal, and then press them.”

At 50 years of age, Cooper’s playing days ended many moons ago, but the Rovers’ boss is likely to come up against a player he locked horns with 14 years ago.

“Incredibly, Andrew Surman played that day and he’s still part of the Bournemouth squad – he must have been young back then. We will go and enjoy the game and as I said against Charlton, this game is a free hit.”

The two sides have met on two previous occasions, both during the 2004/05 season when an FA Cup fixture went to a replay on the south coast, Bournemouth winning 3-1 on the day in a team that featured current boss Howe in their line-up.