Glyn Hodges has provided a positive squad bulletin ahead of Bristol Rovers, as he seeks to build upon two years of progress since his Wimbledon return.
Today marks two years since Glyn was installed as Assistant Manager and after taking over the reins he has engineered real progress with the Dons currently 11th in League One. Following a first home win back at Plough Lane against Peterborough, Glyn says the staff and players are relishing playing at the new stadium with Bristol Rovers up next.
“I didn’t realise it was two years because it has gone so quickly,” said Glyn. “It has been great and everything I thought it would be. It’s been great coming back, and it was quite a long gap from when I left, but it still feels like home and I’m enjoying every minute of it.
“The boys have enjoyed training there (at Plough Lane) and there’s excitement as soon as you step on that pitch. Again, on Saturday at 3 o’clock it will mean everything as well. We just enjoy playing there and we have a run of games coming up at home, so we are just making sure that we get the right results.”
Following a gruelling spell of five matches in 12 days, our manager issued an upbeat squad bulletin with no fresh injury concerns.
“We’ve got the GPS systems, so we know who has worked," added Glyn. "We know the boys who have got knocks, plus the minutes they’ve played. We’ve already spoken about Anthony, but Terell, Dan Csoka, and Joe Pigott have also played lots of minutes. It’s about trying to freshen it up where we can. The wing backs have been sharing it a little bit. Every time I pick a team I’m half thinking about the freshness of the players because we are big on energy with the way we want to play the game. Also, we pick a team to win the game, and we will be doing that again on Saturday. Then we go Tuesday and Saturday again, so it’s a relentless run up until Christmas.
“There are a couple of knocks, but nothing more. We’ve been very lucky, and the boys are resilient, they are chomping at the bit.”
Despite their lowly position in the table, Glyn is expecting a very difficult game against Bristol Rovers tomorrow.
“It was a big result for us (against Peterborough). They probably let us off the hook a bit in the first-half with the chances they missed, but I thought second-half we were worthy of our goals and for the win with the way we defended. Now I think people will look at Bristol Rovers and say that they are not the same calibre as Peterborough, but believe me they are. It’s a harder game for me, and we will be making sure the players know that. It’s a tough game, and there’s no divine right to win in football, but we will be giving it our best, as always.
“They have some good players and a new manager has come in, so he will have different ideas. Sometimes it takes a while for a new manager to get his feet under the table, but they’ve shown glimpses. I know they got beaten 2-0 in the week, but they had a few chances, and they have good players. We don’t underestimate any opposition, but they are a big side including good signings that they made in the summer.”