Coach on yesterday's impressive win for development team
Alan Reeves saluted the response of his players to some harsh words after AFC Wimbledon’s development squad beat Peterborough United yesterday.
A 3-1 win in the Central League South Cup was exactly what Alan was looking for after a Saturday run-out that he was far from impressed with.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Alan said: “We had an in-house game against the Under-18s on Saturday morning because they did not have a match, but I was not pleased about it. I told them beforehand today (Peterborough match) that ‘you are only as good as your last game and unfortunately we have another one three days after a poor performance.’ They had to go out there and play like they had been playing previously this season and they did that.
“I was really pleased with them because they worked their socks off against a strong side. Peterborough had five or six first-team players and if you put our lads up against them it was a bit like ‘men against boys’. But I thought we out-ran, out-fought and out-battled them. In the end we beat them.
“The manager has been really keen on putting lads in and giving them a chance in the first-team if they are good enough. He always asks ‘can I trust him?’ I will say ‘yes’ if I think so, but if I am not sure I will say that. They have to prove to me that they are good at this level and then I will put them forward for the first-team.”
David Fitzpatrick struck twice in yesterday’s match and Alan praised his attitude once again.
“David is one of the older ones in my squad as he is 21 years of age now,” added Alan. “He has not been getting much of a look-in this season. To be fair to him, he has always turned up on the pitch whenever I’ve played him. He absolutely ran his socks off for the team again. If anyone was watching and thinking of taking him on loan I would say that they should snap him up.”
The full interview with Alan Reeves is now on Dons Player.