Manager in upbeat mood after unbeaten league start
believes he heads to Exeter City on Saturday with a much better squad than when Wimbledon last visited St James’ Park in November, 2012.Neal Ardley
(hernia) is currently sidelined and Neal Ardley believes he now has greater depth to his squad than when Wimbledon were well beaten 2-0 over 10 months ago.Will Antwi expected to shake off a slight knock to his Achilles tendon. That means only Alan BennettThe Dons manager (pictured above saluting the fans after the 1-1 draw at Torquay) has no injury concerns for his side’s quick Devon return with captain
, Neal said: “I feel better about it in that we are going there with a very strong team; you are thinking that we may have a really good chance here. But if you do not maintain the right habits, then this game can be really cruel. We have to make sure that Exeter’s performance levels and quality are at their highest if they are to get anything from the game. I cannot guarantee that we will produce free-flowing football, but I can guarantee that we will be very hard-working and well organised. If we put in that sort of performance then Exeter will have to be at their best.Dons PlayerSpeaking to
“The Torquay match was our first of the season and it was more important not to lose that one. But this game is similar in that we need to take something from it; we have a tough run coming up and it is really important to keep our unbeaten run going. If we can turn that into three points rather than just the one then that will be great.”
pressed their claims for selection. However, he also hopes that the younger players in that squad will step-up and ensure that he does not have to move into the loan market this season.Rhys Weston and Kevin Sainte-LuceNeal was encouraged by Tuesday’s Under-21 development match against Portsmouth on Tuesday as the likes of
if he feels any of his players are ready. If Shaun says that certain players have started the season really well; they have been working well on the aspects we have been looking at, then we will put them on the bench. That is the way we want to do it, but it does not always work out like that.”Shaun North“For us to delve back into the market again it would have to be for one of two things; it is a position we do not have cover for or if we had a really bad run of injuries. If we do get injuries, then I want to be able to ask
- Dons Player subscribers can now watch the full six-minute video interview with Neal Ardley and we will tomorrow feature the thoughts of Andy Frampton on our premium site.
- Supporters can purchase tickets on the day at Exeter City on Saturday. If you missed our announcement earlier this week about tickets then please click on Exeter details .