Experienced striker hails the manager
Bayo Akinfenwa saluted a “complete team performance” against Burton Albion last night and he believes it showed that Wimbledon can mix it with the best this season.
The experienced striker was delighted to finally give high-fives to manager Neal Ardley (club photographer Simon Roe captured this picture after Bayo’s first Wimbledon goal), but he said that his side cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
Speaking during an interview with Rob Cornell for Dons Player, Bayo said: “We executed to the letter what the manager wanted from us. From the very first minute we showed what we were about; we were aggressive, we pressed them high up the pitch and it could have been 2-0 in the first 10 minutes. We attacked them from the start and we knew they wouldn’t like balls into the box. It was a complete team performance because we were playing against a team top of the league and they had only conceded three goals before last night. We blew them off the park.
“But we have to take it to teams straight from the start in every match, especially when we’re at home. We’ve got a very good team spirit and a good team ethic, but we don’t have the luxury of just being able to cruise through games. We have to be on it every game for 90 minutes. We did that tonight and we showed that when we’re on it we can mix it with the best in this league.
“We cannot rest on our laurels because we’ve got Morecambe on Saturday. We have to go again and hopefully I’ll be doing another interview talking about us getting three points.”
Bayo added that Neal Ardley’s managerial approach has impressed him – and he was delighted to repay the gaffer’s faith in him last night.
“I promised the manager that I would high-five him when I scored,” Bayo said. “It took eight games for that to happen, but it’s better late than never! I think it all stems from the manager because he’s a very approachable guy. The manager’s far from a pushover and he gets his point across when he needs to. However, if he makes mistakes then he will hold his hand up. That can only make for a better team ethic if a player is not pulling his weight and needs telling.
“We will get there as a team so that we’re consistently winning games. We’ve got the right manager in charge and hopefully we will be looking up rather than down the table.”
.Burton winAll of last night’s goals can now be viewed on our official You Tube channel by clicking on
Dons Player subscribers can watch video interviews with Bayo Akinfenwa and Neal Ardley.