Neal's update ahead of trip to Lancashire
Neal Ardley has confirmed that George Francomb is ready to be included in Wimbledon’s squad for the League 2 match at Accrington Stanley on Saturday.
Francomb (pictured being congratulated after his winner at Southend) has missed the last three games due to a toe injury, but he is back in contention for the trip to Lancashire. However, the Wimbledon manager says he has a decision to make as regards a potential recall for Andy Frampton, who played in a midweek development match after putting a broken ankle behind him.
Speaking to Rob Cornell during an interview for Dons Player, Neal Ardley said: “George has trained all week so that is not an issue. I don’t know about Andy and we have a decision to make about whether it is too soon. It’s something that we will discuss with Andy, the coaching staff and our medical team. It’s a long season and we have to make sure that he is fit and well first.”
Jack Smith is not yet ready to return after being sidelined with a knee injury, but he is back in light training and Neal Ardley believes the left-back could be in contention in two weeks.
With the Dons having failed to win in three league matches, Neal Ardley has been working hard to instil a strong mentality into his squad ahead of a tough battle at Accrington.
“We have looked through all of the goals that we’ve conceded this season and I’ve looked at the statistics of how we can improve in certain areas,” added Neal. “But it’s about having the desire to defend your own penalty box. We had that in the first three games and even in the first game when we drew 2-2 against Shrewsbury. We’ve had it in spells during other matches, but it needs to be constantly for 90 minutes. We had it at Luton and Southend and those were the two games we won.
“Credit to James Beattie; he’s a good guy and has done a great job at Accrington. They ask questions of you at their place and if our mentality is not right then we will get what we’ve had in the last two seasons there.”
Dons Player subscribers can now Neal Ardley’s full six-minute update, including more from the manager on Ross Worner joining Woking on loan. An extended interview with Bayo Akinfenwa will follow tonight.