Neal has virtually a fully fit squad to choose from
are both in contention for Saturday’s first home match of the season against Wycombe Wanderers after shrugging off injuries.Kevin Sainte-Luceand Michael Smith
suffered a dead leg at Millwall, but he is expected to be fine for Wycombe on Saturday.Andy FramptonOn-loan Charlton forward Smith, who produced an impressive debut at Torquay, had a slight ankle knock and was therefore kept on the bench at Millwall, while Sainte-Luce (pictured) has recovered from a hamstring injury.
, Neal Ardley said: “They are all good for Saturday. Michael had a slight knock on his ankle and we felt that three games in a week was going to be tough for him. He had only played 60-70 minutes in pre-season for Charlton so it was a little bit of catch-up for him from the start. Michael will be back in contention for Saturday. Kevin had a slight hamstring and we will look at him, but whether he is going to be in the squad is a different matter because the boys have done well. It is a nice problem for me to have.”Dons PlayerSpeaking to
is definitely out for the visit of Wycombe Wanderers to the Cherry Red Records Stadium. Wycombe’s last visit ended 2-2 after a thrilling match and Neal Ardley is expecting Gareth Ainsworth’s men to be tough opponents once again. The Dons boss said that players had been talked through a video of Tuesday’s Millwall defeat today in preparation for Saturday.Will AntwiOnly
“We did match analysis this morning with seven players who I felt it was important for,” Neal said. “We showed them about 15 clips that highlighted occasions when we did not have enough intensity in our play and did not look to hurt the opposition. Even in the first minute or so there was evidence of three or four times when we passed the ball well and had chances to carve them open, but we passed it around and started again. That is not why we play football; you play to be effective and we need to learn to do that.
“Wycombe are relentless in the way that they play; they will be high intensity and will press us. They have pace and have a lot of athletes in their team. We are going to have to be at it for 90 minutes. We cannot be slow and methodical, otherwise we will be ineffectual. We have to make sure we play at a high tempo.”
Dons Player subscribers can now watch the full video interview with Neal Ardley and we will tomorrow feature the thoughts of Barry Fuller on our premium site.