Dons boss holding out for quality additions
Neal Ardley is prepared to be patient in his search for quality additions and he believes that good progress is being made in assembling a competitive squad for 2014/15.
The Wimbledon manager has so far brought in Sean Rigg and Dannie Bulman, but he says that plenty of positive work is going on behind the scenes as he attempts to land his top targets.
“I know there’s not been much activity up to now, but relax and trust us. We are trying to go for quality and sometimes with quality players you have to spend a bit more time selling the club and what you are trying to achieve. Sometimes they need to see one or two good signings coming over the line to start the process and I think we’re getting there.” Speaking to Dons Player, Neal Ardley said:
“There’s one deal that I’ve been working on probably six weeks from the end of last season and I’m hoping it will come over the line in the next 10 days. That takes patience and perseverance and a lot of conversations with agents.
“We feel we’ve got another six players as far as proven first team-type players to bring in and we’re looking at another young lad that we might have a look at in pre-season.”
Neal added that losing Aaron Morris to Gillingham and the recruitment of Dannie Bulman sums up the ups and downs of the transfer window. Once Neal was made aware that Morris would be departing, he reacted quickly to register his interest in Bulman – and it’s taken until now to seal a deal.
“After the news that Aaron would be leaving for Gillingham I had to move quickly and I had Dannie in the back of my mind,” said Neal. “As soon as I was made aware that Aaron may not be signing I was straight on the phone to Dannie and I arranged to meet him the following day. Since then we’ve had constant dialogue to try and get it over the line and we’ve done it today.
“I know he’s 35, but I think he’s going to be a big player for us next season. He leads by example. I watched Crawley three times last season and we had scouts watching him regularly. Every report we got said that his influence on the game was one of the biggest. I watched him play against Wolves, who were going for promotion, and he ran the midfield. I’m really happy that we’ve got him.”
The full transfer update from Neal appeared on Dons Player yesterday, along with an exclusive interview with Dannie Bulman.