Preview ahead of Southend test on Tuesday night
Neal Ardley will have virtually a fully-fit squad to choose from for tomorrow night’s trip to Southend United.
The Wimbledon manager has plenty of squad options ahead of the match at Roots Hall with only Jack Smith and Andy Frampton currently out injured.
Neal Ardley expressed satisfaction with the quality his new-look side have shown so far in an attacking sense, but he sees plenty of room for improvement.
Speaking to Rob Cornell during an interview for Dons Player, Neal Ardley said: “I’m still finding out about the team. As delighted as I am about our new signings and the way things are going, I’m still looking at how we manage spells in games when the opposition are on top of us. But we have created plenty of chances in the games against Shrewsbury and Luton and even in the Milton Keynes match we had chances. That’s pleasing and with the quality we’ve got we will always have a goal threat if we continue in the same way.
“Everyone who played at the weekend is absolutely fine. It’s been a really tough start though because we’ve had a run of games on Saturdays and Tuesdays. We did not have the luxury of resting a few last Tuesday because we had to have a strong go at it. It’s been a tough week because of that and for the boys to come through with a win against Luton was fantastic.
“Today was about putting together recovery strategies for the boys who played 90 minutes on Saturday. Stuart Douglas and Jason Moriarty have worked really hard with the players this morning so that they’ve got everything they need to recover. The other boys have had a good work-out and tomorrow we will sit down with them all and do some tactical work.”
Though the Dons have won their last two matches at Roots Hall, Neal Ardley is expecting a very difficult encounter with Phil Brown’s men having earned a maximum haul of six points so far.
“It’s going to be very tough,” said Neal. “They’ve probably got five or six players who are six-foot plus and that’s going to be an area we need to look at. Phil Brown’s sides are always very effective and they will go out on the front foot. They will not fear losing and we will need to be ready for all the outcomes, just like we were at Luton on Saturday. Both sides are unbeaten going into it. If we can say that after tomorrow night’s game then we will be over the moon.”
Dons Player subscribers can watch the full update from Neal Ardley on our premium channel, along with an interview with Dannie Bulman.