Winger aims to make up for lost time
Andy Barcham says it’s a “huge relief” to be back after two months out injured – and he maintains belief that the Dons are capable of climbing the League 2 table.
Wimbledon host Bristol Rovers on Boxing Day with their opponents seven points ahead of them and occupying the last play-off place, but the return of Barcham at Newport last week was a real positive heading into the Christmas period.
The winger (pictured) set-up the equaliser for Lyle Taylor late on and he was surprised by his level of fitness to come through it successfully.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Barcham said: “I did not like doing a mini pre-season because it’s hard at the best of times! It was horrible, but it was nice that James Shea had to do the same stuff and we pulled each other through it. It obviously worked because I did not think I would be able to get through 90 minutes in my first game back. Adrenaline gets you through it, but credit must go to Jason Moriarty and Stuart Douglas because they worked really hard with me. For me to get through 90 minutes shows that they did brilliantly.
“I think it’s going to take time for me to get back match fitness. You can deal with the fitness side of things and keep yourself right, but you get that match fitness from playing games consistently. Getting back out there though and contributing is a huge relief for me. It is light at the end of the tunnel after all the work I’ve done to get back. Hopefully, I can stay out there, keep getting minutes under my belt, and start putting in performances.”
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Barcham added that the squad are striving for a consistency that can push them up League 2 as the halfway point of this season approaches.
“The first-half (at Newport) did not go as we planned after a sloppy start,” said Barcham. “But credit to the boys because we kept going and we managed to turn it around in the second-half. We’ve been working all week on not letting the first-half happen again and concentrating on the positives of what we did in the second-half. Hopefully, we can go into this weekend’s game in the same form as we ended the last match.
“We would like to be in a better league position, but it can all change very quickly in this league. A while ago we put a run together and climbed high up the table. We were three points off being in a really good position, but then we started drawing games and went back down. If we can put a run together we will be right back up there.
“The games are coming thick and fast now and the Christmas period can make or break your season. You can get back amongst it and that’s what we’re aiming to do. If we can do well during the period coming up and build on that we can make it a very interesting end to the season.”
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