Midfielder raring to go again at Stevenage tomorrow
Jake Reeves is determined to ensure that Stevenage is a happy hunting ground this time around after a tough reintroduction to League 2 football at the venue last season.
The 22-year-old midfielder’s first game after signing for Wimbledon permanently in January 2015 was at the Lamex Stadium in a 2-1 defeat and it was a sobering experience against a battle-hardened side with Graham Westley at the helm.
However, Wimbledon go back to Stevenage tomorrow aiming to seal a play-off place and with Reeves aiming to hit top form again after returning from injury.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Reeves said: “Graham Westley was still there and they were a big, physical side. Unfortunately, that’s what they did on the day and they kind of bullied us. Now with Darren Sarll in charge I think they will be a little bit different. They might try and play a little bit more.
“Darren was my youth team coach when I was at Brentford. His teams always ran hard and gave everything. When we were not playing very well, he made sure we gave our all and did not leave anything on the pitch. His teams always work hard and I’m sure they will go from first minute to last.
“It was frustrating that we did not seal it (play-off place) the other night against Portsmouth, but we will dust ourselves down and go again. We still have two games to get two points so it does not really make any difference to our end goal.”
Reeves had arguably hit his best form of the season before suffering a hamstring injury with the midfielder claiming an assist at Plymouth a few weeks after his goal of the season contender against York City.
He believes there’s no reason why he can’t recapture his best form at a vital stage of the season in a Wimbledon team that has really kicked on since defeat to Stevenage in December.
“I don’t see this minor blip being a problem,” added Reeves. “The hamstring feels good. It was obviously a bit frustrating missing the games, but the boys did well while I was out. I’m fully fit now and I don’t see any reason why I cannot try and recapture my form.
“Before January we weren’t as consistent, which makes it more frustrating, because the form we’ve shown since January has been very good. Before January it was a new team, the gaffer had brought in a lot of players and they needed to bed in. I don’t think our approach changed too much, but maybe it (Stevenage defeat) gave us the kick up the backside we needed.”
The full video interview with Jake Reeves is now on Dons Player, along with an update from Neil Cox ahead of Stevenage.