On-loan midfielder proud to wear the Wimbledon colours
New signing Michael Collins says it will be a privilege to pull on a Dons shirt after he expressed his admiration for the AFC Wimbledon story.
. Dons You TubeThe 27-year-old (pictured above) spoke to the official website shortly after signing for the Dons and part of his interview can now be viewed by clicking on
The on-loan Scunthorpe midfielder has bad memories of his previous visit to the Cherry Red Records Stadium when he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for 12 weeks during Wimbledon’s 3-2 win against The Iron in August.
However, Collins is hoping for a change of fortune when he gets a chance to play in front of the AFC Wimbledon supporters on a regular basis.
“We managed to get into a 2-0 lead, but then I went in for a challenge with ‘Pelly’ and injured my knee,” Collins recalled. “That kept me out for 12 weeks and was the start of a frustrating season for me. I remember getting a little bit of stick from the Wimbledon fans when I was trying to run on it. My overriding memories are not too good therefore, but hopefully I can put that right in the colours of Wimbledon. I want to put in good performances and help the team get good results.
“I have watched from afar how things have gone at this club over the years since it was reformed in 2002. I am pleased to be a part of it and hopefully there will be good times ahead. It’s never nice to have a football club that you’ve supported since childhood moved to a place miles away. It was a long road back to reform a club, but credit to those people for managing to get Wimbledon back into the Football League. Hopefully, with a bit of stability the club can move forward. I remember growing up and watching Wimbledon in the Premier League. They were always a team that fought hard and I’m just pleased to be here.”
During his 10-year professional career so far, Collins has scored in cup competitions against Chelsea and Everton and he hopes to show he’s still got an eye for goal during his time with Wimbledon.
“In the last year or so I’ve played more of a holding midfield role,” added Collins. “That was more to do with the system that we played at Scunthorpe though. My natural game has always been to get into the box and try and make things happen in the final third. The manager here encourages positive football so I’m hoping to get forward and make an impact, though I still have to do the other things that a midfielder is expected to do.
“I was a little bit unfortunate picking up an injury earlier this season and when I got back to full fitness Scunthorpe had been on an unbelievable 15-game unbeaten run. I’ve therefore had to sit on the bench, but that’s part and parcel of the game. I understood that even though I was captain. There was certainly no problem with Scunthorpe, but I’m 27 now and I need to be playing week in and week out. This is just about me playing games again and I’m excited to be here.”