Glyn Hodges was disappointed with the manner of defeat at the hands of Bristol Rovers today, but he believes his squad are in good shape to bounce back.
Speaking after the 4-2 home defeat, Glyn said: “With every goal there were three or four opportunities to win the ball or be stronger in the tackle. With the way the referees are a bit more punch in the tackle can lead to a free-kick, and we stop it there. Sometimes we are a bit too honest, and sometimes you’ve got to be streetwise, but they were poor goals to give away. All of our defending against Peterborough was fantastic, but today it wasn’t at the same level, and that is the consistency we have to get.
"Bristol Rovers were good today. It was disappointing, but we are still in a good place, we have still done really well, and there are still points to pick up. It’s a harsh lesson: we didn’t stick to the game plan, we didn’t do what we normally do, we went off track a bit, but credit to them.
“From the high of Wednesday and putting in a great performance to beat Peterborough, to all of a sudden being brought down to earth. We knew this was going to be a harder game. It was an opportunity to get back to back wins, but they have a new manager in place and they really play on the front foot. We knew it was going to be difficult, and so it proved, but you can’t fault our boys. They gave everything and it just wasn’t to be.”
The picture above (taken by Matt Redman, Pro Sports Images), shows Ben Heneghan celebrating his second goal in a Wimbledon shirt.
Our manager talked positively about competition for places with all first-team squad members having been given game-time during a hectic recent schedule.
“We had a chance to get to 23 points, and we are devastated in there, but it’s gone now," added Glyn. "We have another game on a Tuesday, and then we have Charlton away on the following Saturday, so the games are coming thick and fast. We have to stick to what we do. We are a good side, we have a way of playing, and the boys are always together. What has come out of this run of games is that lots of players have had a lot of minutes and there is competition for places. Players know that they have to be at it, or they will lose the shirt. I can’t complain, the boys have been brilliant, and it’s a bad day at the office, so we move on.”
You can see the post-match interview with Glyn Hodges below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.