Team news and views from the boss
New loan signing Paul McCallum could be in line for his debut tomorrow at Morecambe with top scorer Byron Harrison struggling to shake off a back injury.
Harrison failed to reappear for the second-half against Southend on Tuesday and he faces a late fitness test. West Ham striker McCallum, age 19, is therefore poised to make his debut with Toby Ajala and Ryan Hervel, both also signed yesterday, in the frame.
Midfielder Steven Gregory is also an injury doubt for the match at the Globe Arena, which will come too soon for Pim Balkestein’s return, though the defender is back in full training.
Since Neal Ardley has taken the charge, the Dons have secured encouraging results from long trips to Fleetwood and York. The Wimbledon boss is demanding a similar spirit at Morecambe tomorrow and he accepts that perhaps his side have been feeling the pressure at home.
“I cannot work out why our home form is so bad,” he admitted. “A lot of my team talks before home games have been about us being on the front foot and playing with no fear, but we have seemed very nervous. Away from home we can set-up to be hard to beat and play our stuff from a solid base. That is what we will be looking to do on Saturday. We will be looking to bounce back like we did after Exeter recently.”
Jim Bentley’s Morecambe are only four points ahead of Wimbledon having won just once out of their last four games. The Dons last season won 2-1 at the Globe Arena with a winner from Christian Jolley.
Subscribers to our premium site can also watch a video interview with rising young winger Yousef Bamba, who produced a dazzling performance in the FA Youth Cup last night. A full interview with Wimbledon’s new striker Paul McCallum can be viewed on Dons Player.