As AFC Wimbledon go in search of a much-needed victory this evening, Johnnie Jackson has said that our squad are determined to give our fans something to shout about.

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Doncaster Rovers brought more frustration as we head into the final batch of games this season - however tonight’s trip to Newport County offers our side an almost instant chance to put things right.

As part of a wide-ranging interview, Johnnie speaks of our desire to put things right, the importance of everyone sticking together and reveals his thinking behind the decision to recall two of our younger pros from their loans.

WE WENT THROUGH A ROCKY PATCH IN AUTUMN AND THEN WE BEAT ROCHDALE AND HARROGATE. HOW DID WE TURN IT AROUND THEN?

One of the key differences – for me – in this run is that the performance levels have been a lot higher. This bad run has coincided with playing against a lot of teams that are at the top end of the division. We’ve competed with them all. We should have come out of every single one of those games with something.

It’s easy for me to say that but it’s genuinely how I feel and how the group as a whole feels. We’ve created a lot of chances but at the same time we’ve given away some poor goals that we need to do better on.

It hurts us all that we’ve lost four games in a row. Having looked back at Saturday and taken the emotion out of it, we created at least four must-score chances. I’d be more worried if we weren’t creating opportunities. There’s a real hunger and a desire to put things right.

WITH RECENT GAMES HAVING SHOWN A CLEAR PATTERN OF NOT BEING ABLE TO KEEP HOLD OF LEADS, WHAT STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN TO WORK ON THE MENTALITY OF PLAYERS?

We’ve spoken about certain strategies that we could look to implement when we’re in the lead. It’s about seeing what we could do better in those moments. It’s something that needs pointing out and we’re well aware that we need to do better at it.

DONS FANS HAVE BEEN KNOWN FOR SUPPORTING THE TEAM IN TIMES OF ADVERSITY. WHAT’S YOUR MESSAGE TO THEM AHEAD OF ANOTHER AWAY MATCH?

The support has been incredible since the day I got here. They travel in their numbers away and they fill the stadium at home – but we need and want to give them more to shout about. In my mind it’s not a team that isn’t giving everything for the badge, I can guarantee our fans that. I just want to thank them again for their ongoing support.

ALI AL-HAMADI HAS JUST BEEN CALLED UP FOR INTERNATIONAL DUTY. WHAT’S YOUR REACTION TO THAT?

It’s bittersweet for us. We’re delighted for the lad as his performances for us have been top draw since he came in and as a result of that he deserves the recognition for his country. It’s great to have another player from the club playing on the international stage.

It’ll be a blow to lose him but it also means that other players will get their opportunities to impress me as part of the run-in.

WHAT’S YOUR THINKING BEHIND THE DECISION TO RECALL ALFIE BENDLE AND LUKE JENKINS?

Supporters will have seen that we only had five options on our bench. We’ve been looking to fill that at every opportunity but at the same time the development of our young players is important. We want them to be playing senior football – a month ago it looked like the perfect opportunity for Luke and Alfie to go out and get their minutes.

I was leaving four senior players out of the squad at that stage because we had plenty of cover. Alfie had been patient, we’d had plenty of discussions about his development and the potential for him to go on loan. I always promised him that he could head out on loan at the right moment.

However at this time it’s in our best interests for him to come back and be an option for us. We hadn’t been able to call these players back until now, so I’m happy to have him and Luke back to provide us with more cover. We know we can rely on them both when they’re called upon.

INJURY UPDATE

Paul Kalambayi is injured and will be unavailable for the next couple of games. Will Nightingale took a bit of a knock in the first-half at the weekend, he’s pretty sore but he trained yesterday. Aaron Pierre was struggling towards the end of the game but he was involved in the session too – we hope to have both of them available.

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