Wally Downes will have to make enforced changes to his starting line-up on Saturday with players missing out due to injuries.
Midfielder Scott Wagstaff came off with a calf injury in the midweek draw at Luton Town and he is ruled out for the last two games. Rod McDonald, who was substituted at half-time in the same match will also miss Saturday’s game due to a groin injury.
Speaking during an update for iFollow, Wally said: “Scott is going to miss the last two games of the season. He has been terrific for me in midfield, he covers a lot of ground, and takes a lot of heat off other players. His endeavour will be sorely missed. Rod misses Saturday as he has a groin strain so I’ve got a decision to make there as well. Everyone else is in contention.”
The Dons have battled against the odds to keep hopes alive of staying in League One for another season and the manager is eager to keep his players focused on the challenge ahead against Wycombe on Saturday.
“I’m not too bothered about Bradford,” said Wally. “We have to make sure we are fully focused on the first-half of Saturday’s game. Break it down if you want into four halves of football. If we go out and win the first-half on Saturday, then we will get them in at half-time, see what problems have arisen for us, and how we are going to approach the second-half. We need to focus on the next 45 minutes.
“It was one of my first games (the previous match against Wycombe) and we played really well that day. I thought we were worth a 2-0 and not a 2-1. They had won five games on the trot when we went there and they were working really hard. They’ve had a bad period since, but I went and watched them on Saturday and they’ve got the obvious threat of Bayo up front. They’ve got to win so they will be coming at us with confidence and we’ve got a big game ahead.”
Though Steve Seddon struck the all-important equaliser on Tuesday night, Wally has called for more goals from other areas with Wimbledon having been reliant on Joe Pigott for the majority of this season.
“None of our centre backs have scored a goal this year, which is a little bit disconcerting,” added Wally. “A few balls have dropped to them, but they haven’t put them away. We’ve just put them in some positions where if the ball drops, then it has to be calmly slotted away. If you get one chance you have to be able to take it and be clinical. If the opportunity falls to you, then you’ve got to be able to take it. This is not the time of the season when you can think, ‘don’t worry, we will score next time’. This may be the last chance that you get this season to score. It’s a chance to get a bit of glory, make sure your technique doesn’t let you down, and you are confident in what you do.”
Click on the link above for the full iFollow interview with Wally.