Dons boss has plenty of options
Neal Ardley confirmed that he has a full squad to choose from for tomorrow’s visit of League 2 leaders Bury.
The Wimbledon manager was in upbeat mood after Tuesday’s JPT win when he spoke to Dons Player and that was partly because he has a full complement of players for this match.
Speaking to Rob Cornell, Neal Ardley said: “It is a credit to everyone as a team and I’m certainly not taking any praise away from Stuart Douglas (club physio) and Jason Moriarty (Sports Scientist). We all work really closely together: the coaching staff and medical team work hard on planning every week. We’ve had 14 games this season with a really tough schedule of Tuesday and Saturday games. It all takes planning and communication: I don’t do anything without talking to everyone else and then I make a decision. But we’ve managed to keep it all ticking over.”
With top-of-the-table Bury visiting the Cherry Red Records Stadium tomorrow, Neal has called on his players to maintain the level of performance that earned such a memorable win at Milton Keynes.
“It has given everyone a lift,” added Neal. “We went into a tough game with a plan and we pulled it off. I think I underestimated how much the players knew about the situation. We have made a lot of new signings, but they realised what they had done for the fans. They were dancing in the dressing room like they had won the FA Cup! I’m really pleased with that and there is a good feeling about the place.
“We are always respectful to the opposition and David Flitcroft has done a great job at Bury. They are dealing with the tag of favourites well, but history has shown that we give the teams at the top of the league a very good game. All we can control is our performance levels as a team and then see what happens. Burton had not been beaten until they came to us.
“Milton Keynes put a strong side out and they are a top League 1 side, but we thoroughly deserved to win the game. We showed that we can beat anyone on our day and if we can’t take anything from that then there’s something wrong. We just have to make sure it’s our day more often that not.”
Dons Player subscribers can watch the full video interview on our premium channel and an interview with Andy Frampton.