Simon Bassey has praised Joe Pigott's impact, as the Dons head to Staffordshire this weekend with extra firepower.
New striker Jake Jervis goes straight into Wimbledon's squad against rejuvenated Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium tomorrow (kick-off, 3pm).
Our season-long loan signing from Luton comes into contention, with Simon keen to add to creditable performances in defeat against both Sunderland in the league and West Ham in the Carabao Cup. Although the Dons had nothing to show for it, the performances offered encouragement to get back among the points at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.
Burton are adjusting to life back in League One, following their relegation from the Championship last season. Although it's still early on in the campaign, Nigel Clough's team have slipped into the relegation places. However, they dispatched previous winners Aston Villa 1-0 in the League Cup in midweek and Clough has been very active reinforcing his squad before the loan window closed.
Goalkeeper Brad Collins from Chelsea, Southampton midfield duo Jake Flannigan and Jake Hesketh, and Wigan striker Devante Cole have all arrived at Burton in the past couple of days.
Below are a few snippets from Simon Bassey's iFollow interview, plus quotes from Burton manager Nigel Clough, and stats ahead of the game.
Simon on Wimbledon's form:
"If you can be a high-performing team, the results will take care of themselves, pretty much. That's what we aim to do. We aim for the performance every week. We know that whether it be through luck or things going for you, if you keep that high-performing team the results will pick up. So far, it hasn't quite gone for us, but we're confident we can keep hitting those levels and our results will change around."
Simon on Burton:
"I don't think many would have seen them struggling so early in the league. Nigel Clough has done a fantastic job there. To bed them into the Championship and keep them there was an amazing achievement by him. Last year they ended up coming down, so sometimes it takes a little bit of time to adjust. With the turnover of players they've had to change a lot this year and sometimes it takes a little bit to get going. I'm sure he'll continue to do a brilliant job there at a really well-run club."
Simon on Joe Pigott:
"Credit to Joe; it's alright you telling him he's got to go away and put in the hard work, but he's certainly done that. We watched Joe for five years, maybe more, there's a player in there and we knew that. Once you drop into non-league sometimes it's hard. You're used to training full-time (with Charlton), you go training part-time on Astroturf (at Maidstone) and it's difficult. You can pick up bad habits and fitness is huge, especially for a centre-forward.
"He was aware of what he needed to improve upon and last year he did really well for us in the performances he put in. He went away, worked hard, he's reaping the rewards, we're reaping the rewards, and long may it continue."
Nigel Clough on AFC Wimbledon:
"They are small club like us and Accrington. We know how hard it is to operate and Neal Ardley has done very well with them. There's a lot of experience in the team as well. They are more than capable. They have put together a very good team that will cause us problems. I just hope we can play somewhere near as well as we did against Aston Villa. If you want to highlight what good League One teams do then look at Wimbledon, the pressure and getting no time on the ball, and they are still a threat."
Last time out
Carabao Cup –
Burton Albion 1, Aston Villa 0
AFC Wimbledon 1, West Ham United 3
Form guide (last six in all competitions, starting with most recent)
Burton Albion – WLLWWL
AFC Wimbledon – LLLDWD
Top scorers (in all competitions)
Liam Boyce (Burton Albion) – 4
Joe Pigott (AFC Wimbledon) - 4
Last meeting
Wimbledon beat Burton 3-0 in a pre-season friendly between the sides at the Cherry Red Records Stadium in July of last year. The last competitive meeting between the two teams was in February of 2015 in League Two, when the two sides were involved in a goalless draw at the Pirelli Stadium.
Tickets
Tickets will be available on the day, but prices increase by £2. Dons supporters will be located in the covered and seated Carling Stand for this game.
Prices will be as follows:
Adults - £24
Over-65s/Young Person (17-22 years) - £22
Under-17s - £14
Tickets ordered online after midday Wednesday 29 August can be collected from the ticket booth at the Pirelli Stadium next to the Burton Albion club shop.
Match coverage
International subscribers can view a stream of the game and commentary provided by our WDON team. Domestic subscribers to our iFollow Dons premium service will be able to listen to commentary of the game. Visit our designated iFollow page for more information.