Dons boss on last night's Millwall defeat
took no consolation from Wimbledon’s gallant Capital One Cup exit at the hands of Championship outfit Millwall last night.Neal Ardley
, the Wimbledon manager said: “I hate losing and I am sure the players and fans do too. Ultimately, we have to say that we could have done better because we could have caused them more problems. We are all a little bit disappointed. I thought we were a bit passive; we had a game plan and knew what we wanted to do, but we showed them too much respect at times. We did not press together as a team and there was not enough dynamic play. We played sideways and backwards too much.Dons PlayerSpeaking to
There are positives and negatives, but I did not expect it all to be plain sailing with a new group of players. We looked a bit caught between two stools, but it is the management’s job to get those things right. I still believe that we have a group of players that are capable of doing something good. You have to give a bit of credit to Millwall because they are a good team. However, I have told the boys that we need to have more purpose in our play with the ball and when we finally did that with 20 minutes to go I thought we were excellent.” “I know we are trying to pass the ball, but we needed to recognise opportunities to play forward, which we have tried to work on.
for special praise.Luke MooreNeal maintains belief that he has assembled a Wimbledon squad that will get it right this season and he singled out last night’s goalscorer
“There were errors in both their goals, rather than us being carved open,” Neal added. “If we can cut out the silly mistakes – and the catalogue of errors that led to their first goal – then we will be fine. I am not going to blast them for it because I am asking them to be brave in their play.
is capable of. They are great options to have and long may it continue. Luke deserved a goal on Saturday and he got one tonight; he will be a big player for us this season. He has started the season really well and I am over the moon with what he has done so far.”Chris Arthur wants to play naturally and he is always a handful when he comes on, Luke is full of energy and we know what Jack Midson“It is great when you look at the bench;
Dons Player subscribers can watch the full video interview with Neal Ardley and we will feature the thoughts of Luke Moore later today on our premium site.