Fit-again right-back gears up for Chesterfield
Curtis Osano has returned after injury convinced that AFC Wimbledon have a strong enough squad to survive this season.
Since making his last first-team appearance against Wycombe Wanderers on 12 January, Wimbledon have brought in the likes of Gary Alexander and Alan Bennett, who Curtis previously linked-up with at Reading.
Speaking to Rob Cornell on Dons Player, the right-back talked about his determination to get back in the side with Wimbledon searching for defensive solidity after leaking goals of late.
Curtis, who had been out with a calf injury before being an unused substitute at Port Vale on Tuesday, said: “I am back to full fitness now and it is really good to be back in the squad, but I cannot expect to come straight back into the team as Jim Fenlon has been performing well. It may be a case of me staying fit and biding my time. We have a lot of games coming up now and hopefully I will get a chance to win the shirt back.
“The players we have brought in are fitting in well and everyone is pulling together. I know Alan Bennett from my Reading days. I remember when he first signed at Reading and when I heard that he was coming here I was happy with that. He is a tough defender and I know what he is capable of doing. It is a pleasure to watch the work that he puts in during training. With the quality of the squad that we have now, if we cannot make it work then we will need to have a really hard look at ourselves.”
Though he did not get onto the pitch at Port Vale on Tuesday, Curtis accepts that the whole squad have to take responsibility for Wimbledon’s poor defensive record during 2012/13.
“It has been the story of our season,” he added. “It has happened a lot where one of us has not marked up properly and the other team has scored. People watching will think it is too easy and perhaps that we do not work on these things, but we do work so hard on defending from set-pieces in training. The only option we have though is to keep working on these things.
“We need to start afresh and shake off Tuesday’s performance as soon as possible. We want to get back into the mindset that helped us go on a five-match unbeaten run.”
Dons Player subscribers can view the full video interview with Curtis Osano on our premium site.