Home-grown Dons talent takes step-up in his stride
An exciting end to the season for Joe Bursik has included a first-team call-up and selection for the European Under-17 Championships, but he’s determined to keep his feet on the ground.
The Dons academy product travelled with Wimbledon’s first-team squad for the Good Friday match at Swindon Town and it was an experience he thoroughly enjoyed.
“A couple of days before the game ‘Bayzo’ said that James Shea was ill and I could be on the bench,” said Joe. “It all came about quickly and I trained with the boys on Thursday. It is good to come to these stadiums when they are filling up, do the warm-up, and be with the first-team squad, which is not what I’m used to. It was a really good experience.
“I just have to keep my head down and keep working hard. ‘Bayzo’ has told me that I just need to keep going. He said that I’ve been doing well, but I have to maintain the hard work on the training pitch.”
Capped twice by England Under-17s last month, Joe has been named in the squad for the European Championships, starting in May, and it’s something he cannot wait to be involved in.
“I got called-up for the Euro 2017 finals, which is pretty big,” added Joe. “Hopefully, we can do well in that and bring the trophy home, which would be amazing. It’s only two weeks until we go to Croatia and I am really looking forward to it. It is great to have things like this coming up.”