Assistant manager on today's first training session with the boys
New assistant manager Neil Cox paid tribute to the quality of his first training session with AFC Wimbledon at our New Malden training complex.
Neil, who enjoyed an excellent playing career as a defender with the likes of Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Bolton, praised the players for taking on board new ideas and first-team coach Simon Bassey for his pivotal role.
“Simon took the very first session today as we are still getting to know the players,” said Neil (pictured left in the image above). “It was a bright, lively session and we got some good points across to the players. We are going to leave Simon in charge on Saturday. We are picking his brains a lot and it gives us a chance to look at the players again. We have only seen them in one game so far and it will be a good opportunity on Saturday for the players to show us what they can do. I have known Neal Ardley for a long time and so it is good to work with him, but I have seen Simon’s training session this morning and it was fantastic. I think it is great that the three of us are going to learn off each other.”
Neil Cox added that he is determined to bring about a defensive improvement in the coming weeks after his first training session with the squad today.
“The main priority is to stop conceding goals,” he said. “We always seem to concede the first goal and that has been a big problem. We have worked on it this morning, but everyone has to defend in this team, not just the back four. We want the midfield players and the forwards to help out. We will defend as a team and attack as a team. The boys have worked hard this morning, we have given them a few pointers, and they have taken them on board straight away. We will have a few hours in the morning to work on a few more things and get our points across, but it is up to the players on Saturday to fight for the shirt.”
The 41-year-old, who is close to gaining his UEFA A coaching licence, is a keen student of the game and he has been quick to do his homework on Saturday’s opponents Cheltenham.
“When we went for our second interview I rang up one or two people who I knew, just to get a few pointers about the next three games. We have got reports on the teams we are going to play. I have got a good report about Cheltenham and a friend of mine is sending me another report today. So we are up to speed on them and will do our homework on them the best that we can.”
The full video interview with Neil can be viewed on Dons Player.