AFC Wimbledon Under-18s travel to Southend United tomorrow with manager Mark Robinson demanding more from the squad after a difficult afternoon at league leaders Northampton Town.
The young Dons suffered a 3-0 defeat with goals for Northampton from Ryan Smith, Michael Harding and Jack Newell. Zach Robinson came closest to a goal for Wimbledon, but his shot after a goalmouth scramble was blocked. Highlights from the match are available to view by clicking on the link below.
Mark Robinson said: “In both penalty areas we are not good enough. We do not have enough hunger to keep a clean sheet and we are not brave enough to score at the other end when we are faced with competent defenders. Our general football is getting better and I know in time we will be able to dominate possession further if the players continue to think for themselves and be more proactive in their movement to receive the ball. If they want to win football matches though they cannot use the fact we are going to play progressive football as an excuse to make poor decisions and errors in key areas and they have to be braver in both penalty areas.
“We will continue with the process because we have to produce better footballers for this football club who can handle the ball well and make excellent decisions. If that means they continue to lose games so be it. I am confident some of the players will excel and as an Academy that has to be our main objective. We do not do any work on the opposition at all. That might seem naive but we have 18 players to improve technically, tactically, physically, socially and psychology we simply do not have the time to worry about them. The players need to adapt to different challenges and put their own stamp on the game. I am confident this will come they are not a million miles away and the great thing when it does come you have more accomplished players not robots".