Illness was the reason why Robinson could not take his place in the dugout for the EFL Trophy fixture against Oxford United, and why he did not travel for the Premier League 2 clash away at Leeds United.

Jack Mesure and James Simmonds oversaw the two games, which had differing results. An impressive and experienced Oxford side recorded a 5-0 victory to end our EFL Trophy campaign, but our young Blues responded by defeating Leeds last time out.

Robinson was understandably frustrated and disappointed to step away from the day-to-day involvement with his team.

He explained: 'I did not deal with being away from the team particularly well, to be honest. I cannot remember the last time I missed work through illness, let alone for just over a week.

'It was difficult not being involved day to day. I love coming to work, and I believe we have a very good working environment. So, I missed the interaction with both the players and the staff.

'I am fortunate enough to work with talented and experienced coaches and in my absence, they were able to handle all of my duties along with theirs.'

Robinson opted against managing remotely; a sign of the trust he has in his coaching staff. Decisions – such as selecting the starting XI – were left to those who continued the work on the training pitches.

'I did leave the picking of the team to the staff,' he said. 'I am not someone who micro-manages anyway, so the way I see it was that me not being there then becomes an opportunity for the staff to take up tasks and decisions that I would normally make.'

Fortunately, Robinson is on the path to recovery and is pleased to resume his duties down at Cobham.

'I am very happy to say I feel quite a lot better,' he said. 'I am not 100%, but I am returning to work as I know that will aid my recovery. It certainly felt a lot longer than just over a week!'

The Under-21s do not have a fixture this weekend due to the international break. They are next in action when they face Strasbourg Under-21s in a friendly on Tuesday, November 28.