Full-back determined to help push club forward
Jon Meades reignited his career last season with 44 appearances in all competitions during AFC Wimbledon’s promotion-winning campaign, but he is eager to keep on improving to meet the challenge of playing at a higher level.
The 24-year-old bounced back to form in 2015/16 season after a couple of tough years at Oxford United, but he believes there is plenty more to come from him.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player ahead of tonight’s friendly against Premier League Crystal Palace, Jon said: “I just want to make sure that I keep my standards high with consistency in my performances. I want to keep on improving now. Neil Cox and Alan Reeves do a lot of work with us on the defensive side of things and they give us advice. I just need to keep on improving a little bit at a time and hopefully I can progress.
“It was an amazing achievement by the club to get promotion, it was great for all the players, staff, and the fans. We have to try and put that behind us now and crack on for League 1 next season. We want to give a good account of ourselves. The first 10 games can really set us up for the rest of the season.
“I grew up watching teams like Charlton and Bolton on Match of the Day and there are some realty big clubs in the division. There will be some big stadiums that our fans and us as players will enjoy visiting, but we are not here just to take part. We want to go to these stadiums to try and turn these teams over.
“Teams like Bury and Southend who were in League 2 have shown that they can step-up a division and go again. There is no reason why we cannot do that and we are excited by the challenge. Our style of play may change a little, but the staff will prepare us really well and we are looking forward to it.”
During the interview with WDON’s Rob Cornell, Jon said that pre-season preparations are going well and he has been impressed with the additions to the squad made by Neal Ardley.
“Pre-season has gone quite smoothly,” added Jon. “We are not far away now and the team is in good shape. We have a big game coming up against Palace and that will be another good test for us. We’ve had a shorter break, but we’ve not changed too much with our approach. The management team are ensuring that we are fit, but fresh for the start of the season.
“When we played Stevenage last season Dean Parrett and Chris Whelpdale were stand-out performers for them. It’s great to have them on board here now for League 1. They’ve shown what they can do in pre-season games and I think they will add a lot of quality to the side.”
The full interview with Jon Meades featured on Dons Player, along with an update from Neal Ardley.