Interview with Andy Barcham ahead of Walsall tomorrow
Andy Barcham says it’s a big loss to lose Barry Fuller for the rest of this season, but he believes that Paul Robinson will be a great captain in his absence.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player ahead of tomorrow’s game against Walsall, Barcham said: “It is not nice missing Barry because he is a great skipper and a massive player for us. He is a big character and it is very difficult to replace someone like him. In terms of ‘Robbo’ stepping up to be captain, he sort of does that naturally anyway, whether he has got the armband or not. He is always talking and using his experience to help the group so that has carried on to that effect.
“Though it’s hard to replace Barry, George (Francomb) has slotted into the right-back position and done very well. He has played there a few times to be fair so it is not foreign to him. When you lose a big player like Barry, it’s not nice, but you have to come together as a group to try to get through it. We’ve been trying not to let it affect us so that we can keep going with what we want to do.”
Though the Dons have lost Fuller due to injury, Dean Parrett, Darius Charles, Will Nightingale and Jon Meades have all returned to full training in recent weeks, something which Barcham says has really boosted the squad.
“We’ve certainly missed those players, particularly as we’ve had games coming up thick and fast,” added Barcham. “It is fantastic to have players like that coming back into the squad, not just for what they bring on the pitch, but off it too. You can see in training how eager they are to get back amongst the squad and that can only help the team.”
Andy Barcham’s full six-minute interview, with WDON’s Rob Cornell posing the questions, is now on Dons Player.