Dons Player update from the manager ahead of League One away game
James Shea is expected to be included in the squad for Saturday’s League One match at Oldham Athletic, but the match may come too soon for Darius Charles to return.
Speaking during his team update for Dons Player ahead of Oldham on Saturday, Neal said: “James had a bit of a niggle after the game on Saturday, but we had to put five players on the pitch (from the team against Bury). He could feel it a little bit so we took no chances and got him off the pitch. He will be fine, but he could have done with a day or two of resting it.”
“Darius is getting close, he is training and working hard with Stuart Douglas. He is doing lots of functional stuff, but we decided that we did not want to him to train and pull out again. We wanted to make sure he had been pushed to his limits so that when he does come back into the group he will be good. With the schedule coming up, I think it’s important that we know there is going to be no niggles going forward.” When questioned about a possible return for Darius Charles (pictured), who has been missing with a thigh injury, Neal added:
place in League One this Saturday, Neal is expecting a particularly difficult test.ndThough ninth placed Wimbledon head to a club occupying 22
“Away from home against a big club, it is going to be tough,” said Neal. “Sometimes the league does not tell you what it should and other times it does. They beat Scunthorpe 2-0 at home a few weeks back and played really well and they’ve played well in other games. Little moments have gone against them, but they have got good players, who can hurt us. We’ve got to be ready. We cannot perform like we did at Bury in the first-half or how we did at Newport. We have to put more of a Bradford or Oxford performance in as a team if we are going to get anything from the game.”
Speaking about a packed schedule of matches during November, Neal added: “The replay puts another one in there and if we win it puts another cup game in there in round two, which is what we want. Then we have the EFL Trophy game. It is tough, no one is going to lie and say it’s not a punishing schedule, but we are not going to moan about it.
“The board have been fantastic, they have been getting us on trains, which helps with the freshness of the group, rather than travelling on motorways. They do everything possible. We just need the players, squad, and everyone to repay that. We cannot win every game – we will try – but we can make sure that we perform to as high a standard as possible in every game. Hopefully, in a difficult period that will bring us some success.”
The full update from Neal is now on Dons Player and an interview with captain Barry Fuller will feature on our premium channel tomorrow.