Match-winner eager to get better
Tom Elliott has scored two goals in his last four appearances, but the towering striker says he’s working hard to improve his chance conversion ratio.
Despite netting the winner at Peterborough and producing a display that terrorised Wimbledon’s opponents, Tom struck the woodwork twice and he aims to be more prolific in future.
Speaking during an interview with Rob Cornell for Dons Player, Tom said: “It was a great performance and the manager and fans were pleased. The players were over the moon as it kept up a good run of form. I don’t want to give too much away, but we have a few movements that we work on in training and I was at the back stick to put it in (the winning goal). The manager has been working with me to be a goal poacher and get more goals. It’s paying off, but hopefully I can get a few more now.
“With the second chance I had it was a good save by the keeper and I tried to slot the rebound, but it has come back off the post. I should have done better with that, but with the lob I thought I’d done everything right! It was a few inches off and hit the post. I was devastated because I should have had two, but I’m going to keep working hard in training to put them away. I could have made the game easier for the boys, but we worked hard together and dug in for the points anyway.”
Tom believes that the resilience shown second time around at Peterborough this season was a far cry from the previous 3-2 defeat in the EFL Cup in August – and it showed how far the squad has progressed.
“In the League Cup game we conceded sloppy goals, but we were resilient and solid this time around,” added Tom. “Defensively, we have cut-out the mistakes and got a clean sheet. That’s what you need if you want to go up. ‘Robbo’ (Chris Robertson) and Will (Nightingale) have both come into the side and they were unbelievable. We are sixth now, the stats show it, and we are going to keep pushing and see where we end up.
“The manager keeps rotating it, but the boys keep pushing each other for places. We are going to continue to push each other. Whoever wears the shirt will do the best that they can and when their time is up the next player will come in and do their job.
“I love it when the fans sing my name and the boys do too. We are out there doing it for them. With the fans, players and staff, it is like one big family. We all love it. I am happy to be here and I know the boys are happy to be here. It’s a great atmosphere, a great achievement for the club, and it’s onwards and upwards really."