Manager points the way forward
Neal Ardley says the Dons will be without key players for tomorrow, but he believes his side can have a good crack at promotion contenders Wycombe Wanderers.
Winger Alfie Potter and full-back Jack Smith are both likely to miss the game against Gareth Ainsworth’s men with groin injuries to join other players on the treatment table, but Neal says there will be no excuses tomorrow.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Neal Ardley said: “Jack had to come off the other night, Alfie is out, and with Callum Kennedy and Mark Phillips also injured that is four that would be in the squad. It will be a youthful squad, but there will be no excuses. We have prepared really hard for it today and we will try and give it our best shot.
“Our home record is exceptional and their away record is exceptional so it is a case of who blinks first! I would like to think our fans will want us to have a go and the result will be whatever happens at the end of it. We do not want to be cagey because we are playing against a good team. We have got our own targets. We want to finish the season strongly by maintaining our home record and reaching 60 points. I do not care who we are playing as we want to hit those targets.”
The Dons will finish the season with a more youthful squad than when they started it and Neal believes that offers a real positive for the future. In particular, the form of young talents Jake Reeves and Ade Azeez has impressed him.
because I think we have deserved more than that up to now.th or 15th“Centre-back has been a problem position,” said Neal. “We started off with a lot of experience and know-how at centre-back and we have ended up with youth and athleticism in the team. That has probably contributed to the naivety that I have mentioned a few times recently. There have been loads of positives this season. We would have liked to still be in with a chance of the play-offs. I don’t want us to finish 14
“Jake has been fantastic. He is so fit and he is starting to effect games with his energy alone. Add that to his quality and I think he is going to be a really good player for us. Strikers need confidence, but what people need to know about is what we see in training a lot. We work on them in training and in terms of team selection we know the levels players are at. Ade’s training has got better and he is performing to a high level consistently so he deserved his chance.
“We will have a look at where we go with the team tomorrow and see what the options are. Both sides will be a little patched up with four or five players out injured. We need to send out a team good enough to win.”
The full interview with Neal Ardley will be on Dons Player shortly.