Dons boss still aims to bring players in
Neal Ardley says that two fantastic away wins have not altered his determination to improve the Wimbledon squad during the rest of this month.
Though Neal Ardley was quick to salute the work ethic of his players after victories at Torquay and Rochdale, he admitted the Wimbledon coaching staff will still be working tirelessly to improve their squad during the January transfer window.
Speaking to Dons Player, the Wimbledon manager said: “It is tough, but you like to think that players will ask questions about the manager, the staff, and the way that we are trying to do things at the club. If they ask those questions, then I am sure they will get the answers that will make them want to come. We have to work very hard to bring these players in by convincing them to come here. Hopefully, we will get one or two characters to add to the squad.”
Neal Ardley saluted the response of his whole squad since Wimbledon’s 3-0 defeat at home to Oxford United.
“Sometimes you need a kick up the backside to get a response and the Oxford game was certainly that,” he added. “We got a response for the Torquay match and we took that into this game. Watching the video footage of the opposition, we got to see how we should tackle the match and I thought our game-plan worked very well. In the first-half we were defensively brilliant, but we just lacked a bit of quality on the ball. That meant that the ball kept on coming back but after the half-time team-talk we had a bit more quality. We had a 20-minute spell of dominance at the start of the second-half, but you just worry that the goal will not come at that time.
“It is the whole team effort from Neil Sullivan through to all the substitutes which counts as the attitude has been fantastic this week. Hopefully, that brings a bit more confidence as it is the first time we have won two matches on the trot since I have been here. We have to now address our home form. We have Wycombe next with my old mate Gareth Ainsworth and they are playing very well at the moment. Hopefully, we can put one over on them. “
Dons Player subscribers can view the full video interview with Neal Ardley later this weekend, along with the thoughts of Jonathan Meades, who produced another impressive display during his loan spell from AFC Bournemouth.