Left-back interviewed after returning to match action
Jon Meades said he’s determined to fight for his place back soon after getting 90 minutes under his belt in the Premier League Cup win against Wigan.
As one of last season’s promotion heroes, Meades was expected to be a regular once again during this campaign, but an ankle injury sidelined him before 2016/17 got underway.
In his place, Sean Kelly has played every game and Meades knows his place is far from guaranteed.
“I had not played a game in four weeks and I’m just glad to get through 90 minutes,” Meades told Dons Player. “I was blowing a bit in the last 10 minutes and I was a little sore near the end, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. It was a positive outcome. I played the majority of pre-season, but in the week before the new season started I had to pull myself out, which was really annoying. That happens in football.
“It’s hard because you want to be out there, especially when the team is not getting the results we want. You just have to keep your head down and have a positive attitude as that will get you back quicker. Hopefully now I’m on the right path and I can get back into the first-team. I feel pretty ready, but it’s up to the manager now.
“Sean has done well because he was thrown in the deep end a little bit. He has acquitted himself well and I will have to fight to try and get back into the left-back spot. I will keep working hard and it will be good competition. I had that last season with Callum Kennedy so I will just try my hardest to get back in.”
His last competitive first-team game was actually at Wembley in the play-off final and Meades is eager to help the Dons move forward at the higher level.
“Wembley feels like years ago now! Everyone has put it to the back of their minds now. I think we’ve acquitted ourselves well, but the results have not gone our way. I don’t see any reason why we cannot compete at this level. I’ve seen most of the games and there has not been much in it.
“George Francomb had been out for a while and his return will be a huge bonus for the squad because he has such good quality on the ball. Obviously, Dominic showed what he can do too and he will be knocking on the manager’s door. I know we got a good result (against Wigan), but we need to do better off the ball. We know how good the teams are after stepping up to League One and if we don’t do it off the ball we will get punished.”
Full interviews with Jon Meades, Dominic Poleon and Alan Reeves are all on Dons Player.