Manager full of pride ahead of Wembley occasion
Neal Ardley has delivered an upbeat message to get even more fans supporting the Dons at Wembley Stadium on Monday.
that can be viewed on our official You Tube channel, Neal also talked about his immense pride at the prospect of becoming the first manager to lead AFC Wimbledon out in a competitive fixture at Wembley.interviewSpeaking during an
Neal said: “It’s brilliant and it makes you proud, but I want more! We’ve got 20,000, but let’s get 25,000 and push the boundaries out. You always have those first few days when ticket sales go through the roof, but they obviously slow down. This is a big occasion and my message is ‘come and watch us, no matter who you support, we can be your second team’.
“Fair play to Plymouth for selling over 33,000 tickets. With corporate tickets, it could be 60,000 and you are thinking ‘wow’. Can we be greedy and make it to 65,000? Let’s make it a day to remember, no matter what. It’s a celebration of good seasons for both teams and the atmosphere will be electric.
“There have been many iconic moments and I got asked the other day by the press is this the biggest game in AFC Wimbledon’s lifespan? I said ‘no’ because I think the game at Manchester was the biggest. If we did not get out of non league then we may not have had these moments coming around so credit to that team. I think the Fleetwood game and staying in the league probably comes second. But this game is in a different way the biggest occasion in the club history because it’s Wimbledon and it’s at Wembley.
“There is a defining moment and although everything does not hinge on this one game, the actual occasion to go to Wembley is a massive step in the club’s history. I am proud to be the person who takes us there this time around. Someone showed a picture to me of the day when I signed schoolboy forms with a certain Bobby Gould in it and I thought ‘what a photo that is’. It filled me with pride to think that I’m in an elite club of managers to take Wimbledon to Wembley.”
The full nine-minute interview with Neal Ardley is now on Dons Player, along with interviews with Lyle Taylor and Paul Robinson, ahead of Monday’s play-off final.