Glyn Hodges was today in upbeat mood about Wimbledon's summer preparations with almost a fully fit squad heading into the new season.
Jack Rudoni (concussion) will miss tomorrow night’s EFL Trophy group match against Charlton Athletic, but the manager reported that new striker Ollie Palmer joined in full training for the first time since joining us after putting a groin injury behind him.
“It was the first time Ollie had been out there, he was enjoying it, and he’s making good strides,” said Glyn. “It boosts his morale and confidence because it’s a lonely place when you are working your way back to the team.
“Rudi is the only problem, he’s had concussion, and he’s still got symptoms. Whenever he tries to run he goes a bit light headed so that has to run its course and you can’t rush these things, so whenever he’s fit he will be welcomed back in.”
Glyn added that he is seeing plenty of good signs for the new season after an encouraging training week in the build-up.
“We’ve had a great few days: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were tremendous and then we had an in-house squad game on Saturday,” said Glyn. “What we got out of it really pleased me and the boys have come back in good form today. It’s going to be a test now, the games are going to come thick and fast with challenges ahead. We will wait and see, but we are confident.
“I said to the boys it’s a competition (EFL Trophy) that we didn’t do so well in last season and we want to do well, as with every competition we play in. We ended up getting Ryan Longman from Brighton, so there was a positive to come out of the competition last season. Even with the Carabao Cup at Oxford coming up, we just want to progress in all the competitions.
“It has probably knocked a few of the pre-season friendlies on the head, but we are back at it and as it’s been quite a long pre-season we are ready to go. A lot of fans don’t like the competition, but the closer you get to Wembley the more interest there is. Any fan would take a day at Wembley to support their team.”
Asked about the possibility of more signings in the near future, Glyn said: “There is one, maybe two, but it is just timing and waiting for things to drop. We are getting close to the season now so I would like to make one before the Northampton game, but we will see.
“Though we’ve got some experienced players in, we also lost a few senior players, but the young lads are a year older and they are wiser. We know what we are doing, we know what we are about. There’s a good sprinkling of youth and experience. I like the balance of the squad and we managed to get what we wanted over the line.”
Our first EFL Trophy group match is a 5.30 pm kick-off on Tuesday at QPR's Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium. Spectators are not permitted, but you can can catch the action by tuning into iFollow. The live stream can be accessed for a match pass price of £10 on iFollow.
To watch Rob Cornell's full interview with Glyn, click on the link below.