Neal Ardley wants his AFC Wimbledon side to present Blackburn Rovers with a test, when they visit Ewood Park tomorrow afternoon.
The Dons showed positive signs, as they bid to find form in League One, in Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Gillingham. Young midfielder Anthony Hartigan caught the eye and Andy Barcham opened the scoring for Wimbledon in an attacking display.
Rovers meanwhile have started to show why they are one of this season's promotion favourites with a run of successive league victories. Neal knows the hosts possess significant quality for this level too.
Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray is well aware of Wimbledon, as his last game in charge of Coventry City was a 2-2 draw at the Ricoh Arena just under a year ago.
He took over the manager's position at the former Premier League champions in February, before Rovers were relegated from the Championship in May.
Management Comments
Neal Ardley –
"It's one of those sort of games where we like to excel if we can and give them a tough game.
"We'll do our best and certainly I won't set up to defend, if we can help it. Obviously we'll have to do a lot of that at times because of their quality, but we'll try and have a good go at it and see what we can get.
"They've won their last four (Blackburn) and I didn't think it was going to be long until they picked up. A lot of new faces have come in and sometimes it takes a while to click, but with the quality they've got it's only going to get stronger.
Tony Mowbray –
"It will be tough as I think they (AFC Wimbledon) have got a bit of everything.
"I think they can play, they can pass from the back, they are very dynamic, they are physical, strong and athletic, good on set-plays. They are a dangerous team.
"They are an intense team and the physical side of the game is something that they relish. So we have to be ready for that."
Team News -
Neal Ardley said that Paul Robinson will be assessed ahead of the Blackburn game on Saturday.
Midfielder Jimmy Abdou serves the final game of his three-match suspension after his sending off at Blackpool earlier this month.
Rovers are expected to welcome Craig Conway back to their squad. The midfielder missed the midweek win over Scunthorpe United after suffering a hip injury the previous Saturday at Rochdale.
Midfielder Rekeem Harper needs a scan on a thigh strain. Rovers continue to be without Darragh Lenihan, Scott Wharton and Ryan Nyambe through injury.
Last time out -
Scunthorpe United 0 Blackburn Rovers 1
AFC Wimbledon 1 Gillingham 1
Tickets -
Blackburn will be selling tickets on the day to our supporters from the away end ticket office, which opens at 1pm tomorrow.
Please arrive early to purchase a ticket as there will only be one member of staff on duty.
Collections can also be made from the away end ticket office.
Match coverage -
Tune into iFollow for live match commentary from our WDON team. Overseas subscribers can watch a live stream of the game by subscribing to iFollow.