Will Nightingale can’t wait to lead The Dons out on Saturday and he is relishing the prospect of taking on a Rotherham side fancied to be vying for promotion in 2019/20.
Our home-grown defender, who has been confirmed by Wally as Wimbledon’s captain, said: “There’s no better feeling than game day. There is always a little bit of nerves, but I wouldn’t change that feeling for the world. I thrive off any sort of challenge, any game that I’m going to be playing in. I can’t wait and I’m going to be itching for it come Saturday morning.
“If you look at our form and how we finished last season we should be taking any positive and putting that in our heads. We should be thinking that we can go and win this game. It will be a tough game because they are one of the teams expected to be up there, but it’s the first game of the season and I say, ‘Bring it on’. I will make sure that I try and get all the boys up for it before the match. I’m feeling confident.
“We finished pre-season strongly, we got the draw against Crystal Palace and obviously a win against Hampton. There have been a couple of results we’ve not been happy with, but we’ve chopped and changed our team around a lot. We’ve got minutes into the boys and I think we’re starting to look sharp. I’m raring to go for this Saturday. This is where it counts. If we go and win on Saturday, results in pre-season won’t matter. It was all to put us in a good position for Saturday. This is when it matters. I believe we are going to stand up and be counted.”
On being given the captain’s armband for the new season, Will added: “When I cross that white line I try to get the best out of whoever I’m playing with. I always want the best for the people around me and I think that if we work well as a team it’s going to put us in a good place. I will do everything I can for this club. Everyone who knows me knows how much this club means to me and what this responsibility means.
“I’d heard a lot of stories about the manager as he’s one of the old Wimbledon boys. For him to give me such a big role when he came in was massive and I think from there I wanted to do my best for him. I wanted to do the best for myself, but straight away I wanted to do my best for the manager. I want to repay that trust. Any game I’m selected for I will give my all for the badge.”
Take a look below at the full video interview with Will.