Post-match reaction after spirited Chesterfield display
Simon Bassey said that his side’s display against Chesterfield restored pride for the Wimbledon fans, but it must be a performance that is replicated on a more regular basis.
As a former AFC Wimbledon player and now long-serving coach, Simon believes it was a display that fitted in with the old Dons fighting spirit of years gone by after the manner of Saturday's disappointing defeat against York City.
Speaking to Dons Player, Simon said: “I’ve said to the boys in there that they are the levels that this club needs. If you put a Wimbledon shirt on then they are the minimum expectations that are required. We want a great work ethic and togetherness and we fell short of that on Saturday. But I think tonight the fans can go away proud of a hard-working performance from the players wearing Wimbledon shirts. Chesterfield are the best team in this league by a long way in my book and we’ve given them a good game today. We need to hit those levels more often though and consistency has been our problem.
“We have a good side here, but we’ve had a lot of indifferent form. No one is more disappointed with that than myself. But we will continue to work really hard and hopefully we’ll be looking up the league rather than down.”
Simon was particularly pleased with the way that Wimbledon’s players adapted to a system that nullified Chesterfield’s threat.
“I thought the boys acquitted themselves really well,” Simon added. “We gave a good account of ourselves and if we’d kept that lead a bit longer then who knows what might have happened. But we’re really proud of the players because we wanted a reaction from them after Saturday. That’s what we got and the players showed a fantastic attitude.
“The manager is very good and he works his socks off for this club. He felt let down on Saturday, but he’s come up with a change of system tonight that I thought worked really well at times tonight.”
Dons Player subscribers can watch the full video interview with Simon Bassey and we will feature the thoughts of captain Alan Bennett soon.