Defender poised for debut at Woking
Neal Ardley has today confirmed that defender Mark Phillips is poised for his first appearance in a Wimbledon shirt when the Dons travel to Woking on Saturday.
The former Southend defender (pictured) came through today’s training session at New Malden after missing all of Wimbledon’s pre-season matches so far due to an abscess.
Following the win against Sutton United on Tuesday, Neal is expecting another tough game at Kingfield Stadium – and he is aiming to give Phillips game-time with just 16 days until the start of 2014/15.
Speaking to Rob Cornell on Dons Player, Neal said: “Woking are a very good team and they finished last season brilliantly. I’ve spoken to their manager Garry Hill a few times and he is hopeful of doing something similar next season. Our game against Sutton was hard on Tuesday and you want these games to be as tough as they can be.
“There have been lots of positives to take from the last two games. It’s a work in progress because we’ve planned everything the way we wanted to do it and barring too many injuries. We’re sticking to that and it’s about building up fitness and trying to get that winning mentality. We want to get a bit of shape into the team taking into account the strengths of the players we’ve signed. The players need to know their jobs in and out of possession. We’re not there yet, but we’re coming along nicely.”
Woking boss Hill guided his side to an impressive ninth place finish in the Conference National table last season. The Cards have strengthened so far this summer by bringing in three new players, including former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Jake Cole. So far this pre-season, Woking have beaten Scottish Championship side Falkirk and drew with a Fulham XI.
Ticket prices for the match at Woking (3.00 pm kick-off) are as follows: Adults £8, Concessions £4, Under-16s free.
Dons Player subscribers can now watch the full video interview with Neal Ardley and we will feature the thoughts of Ross Worner on going back to his old club Woking later today.