Experienced duo Luke O’Neill and Scott Wagstaff are constantly striving for that extra edge that will help our young squad climb the League One table.
“I do look at the stats a little bit,” said Luke. “I like to be up there with assists at the end of the season. That’s one of my targets I want to be hitting and there’s always room for improvement, especially while we’re playing in this division as well. You want to play higher and achieve good things.”
“It is a very good group, but it is a young group,” added Scott. “We do need to take over, in terms of experience, and pass it down to them. Being captain though is brilliant and I hope the boys appreciate me as a captain!
“It’s a great honour to have the captain’s armband. I didn’t think at the start of the season that I was going to be captain or anything like that. Players like me and Luke, and we’ve got Woody, Pigs, Kwesi and Rod who are here, you’ve got to have the older lads help the younger lads because it is a young group.”
The right-sided pair have resumed a successful partnership, which first came about in their days together at our Kent rivals Gillingham. With no game for The Dons this weekend, we took the opportunity to sit down with Luke and Scott for an in-depth chat at the training ground.
While there was plenty of insight into life in a happy Wimbledon camp, there was also a few interesting stories and laughs along the way in our extensive interview which went on for over a quarter of an hour!
The subjects Scott and Luke spoke about included:
- How they got into football by initially following their local clubs - Gillingham (for Scott) and Reading (Luke)
- How they became aware of the Wimbledon story and playing a part in the exciting next chapter
- The importance of both being “pampered” at their age when they visit the physio room!
- How Lead Professional Phase Coach Mark Robinson helped bring the squad even closer together with his initiation song!
- Being careful what they eat under the watchful eyes of Sports Scientist Jason Moriarty
- Early preparations for our trip to Bolton Wanderers next weekend
- Scott’s pride in wearing the captain’s armband for AFC Wimbledon
- Moving forward into the second half of an important season for Wimbledon
You can see the full seventeen minute feature with Scott Wagstaff and Luke O’Neill below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.