Update from Neil ahead of Bury game on Tuesday night
Neil Cox today said that the Dons management team will check on the fitness of four or five players before selecting a squad to face Bury in the FA Cup tomorrow.
During an update for Dons Player this afternoon, Neil reported that Jon Meades (ankle) is doubtful, along with Tom Elliott and Chris Whelpdale (both illness).
“Jon missed the weekend and we will know a lot more tomorrow,” said Neil. “Tom missed training today because he is not well. Chris joined in, but he was not well too, and Barry Fuller got a whack. We have four or five who we will have to make difficult decisions on, but we obviously have a lot of games coming up as well.”
It’s been a difficult away schedule so far this month with over 1,000 miles clocked up during away trips to Bury, Newport and Oldham. Neil is therefore looking forward to being back under the lights at the Cherry Red Records Stadium and he believes our supporters can play a big part in helping the squad through to the second round.
“The first thing we need is for the fans to get right behind us,” said Neil. “This is no easy game. They are a good side, but they are just on a bad run of form at the moment. If we don’t set-up right and get organised right from the first minute, we could have a difficult result against us. All the fans need to get behind us. We need to focus from the start. Whatever happens, even if we get a 1-0 win, we will be over the moon with that.
“We have dug in, even though we’ve not been playing well. I think a lot of teams have done their homework on us to stop us playing. We have to try new things now, but the boys put in a good shift on Saturday. It was a hard game against Oldham on Saturday after all the miles we’ve been travelling. The players know they have to get themselves going again for the cup.
“We are lucky to be in it because they were the better side in the first game. They had a bad result at the weekend, but it all changes now. This is the FA Cup and they will know what tie they are going to get. We need to make sure we are on our best game, otherwise we are going to be knocked out of this competition. We need to do really well and prepare right.”
The full update from Neil Cox and an interview with Paul Robinson are now both on Dons Player.