Defender vying for recall against Pompey
Jake Goodman says he is determined to repay the faith shown in him by AFC Wimbledon after his loan spell was blighted by injury problems.
It was a very promising start for Goodman after joining from Millwall as he helped the Dons to four wins out of five, including a debut win in the FA Cup at Wycombe, but the defender suffered a broken toe against Carlisle in mid-January – and it’s been a long road back.
Having featured twice for the development squad in recent weeks, Goodman is expected to be back in contention against Portsmouth tomorrow and he told Dons Player that he can’t wait to be back involved.
“Despite the injuries, it has been brilliant for me here and I am thankful to the manager for giving me a chance,” said Goodman. “I needed to play in the Football League and it had been very frustrating being with the Under-21s at Millwall. They wanted someone with experience there so I am glad that the manager here took the opportunity to bring me in. Hopefully, I can repay him.
“I owe Jason Moriarty and Stuart Douglas a lot because I feel fit and fitter than before I came to the club. After I broke my toe I could not really do anything for four weeks. When I finally started fitness work again I injured my calf and that set me back. Previously, I had not been out for over a month in my career so it was frustrating for me. But I am over it now thankfully. I am just looking forward to being back involved.”
That has come later than anticipated for Goodman with Wimbledon’s management team preferring to play him in development games, rather than thrust him straight back into first-team action. However, the most recent one of those games on Tuesday was against a very experienced AFC Bournemouth team with former Premier League players Ian Harte and Dan Gosling in opposition.
“It was a good learning curve for me playing against Championship players with Premier League experience,” added Goodman. “If I had come back into the first-team when I wanted to then I would have been a bit rusty. I have had to listen to the management team and play development games. That has got me stronger now. Now I want to help the team get back up the table after a couple of setbacks.”
.Youth Focus and Team NewsIf you missed Neal Ardley’s updates ahead of Pompey, please click on
The full interview with Jake Goodman and Neal’s full six minute update are both on Dons Player.