Left-back pleased with his progress since joining Dons
Sean Kelly says he’s enjoying a different kind of test in English football after coming through a tough start at AFC Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old Scotland Under-21 international started 2016/17 in the team, but a thigh injury interrupted his progress and left-back Sean also said that he’s taken time to adjust to football south of the border.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Sean, who played over 100 games for St Mirren in Scottish football, said: “The manager’s philosophy is to play forward and run forward so that we can try to hurt teams as much as possible. There is no point passing it back to the goalie all the time – that’s not good football. We are trying to play with quality, play forward, but obviously on the ground. I think on our day you can see that we are a dangerous team with the options we have going forward.
“It’s a different kind of test for me compared to Scottish football. Down here it is a lot more direct and more athletic. It has taken me a bit of time to get used to it. Slowly, but surely, I am starting to get there. I’m probably more offensive-minded than defensive-minded, but it’s obviously something that you learn. You cannot keep bombing forward, especially down here as it’s more direct. The other team would play it into the channel that you’ve left. It’s something I am learning and I’ve enjoyed it so far. The boys and the coaching staff have been great.”
Sean was full of praise for the club’s fans after the Millwall game and he believes the squad have shown that they can be competitive in League One this season.
“It was really important (to get a result) so that there was a good vibe around the place after two defeats,” added Sean. “We did not really look like scoring in those games and we had kind of got away from what we do well. It was a good atmosphere to play in and even when we went 1-0 down and 2-1 down the fans stuck with us. They could see we were still in the game. It was a good team performance and a draw was probably the least we deserved from the game.
“We are doing really well. The progress is there for everyone to see, apart from a couple of results over Christmas. To be in the position we are in, I think everyone would have taken that at the start of this season. Obviously, we were around the play-off spots and then slipped away a little bit. Hopefully, we can keep picking up points and see where that takes us at the end of the season.”