Glyn Hodges would love the opportunity to be involved in another FA Cup giant-killing, but he said that the Dons must earn the right to do so by winning at places like Barrow.
Wimbledon travel to Cumbria for a first round Emirates FA Cup tie aiming to recreate the momentum that built during the 2018/19 season, which included the high point of a 4-2 victory against West Ham. However, David Dunn’s Barrow side were promoted into League Two last season and Glyn knows that his squad will have to be ready for a big challenge on Saturday in order to make further progress.
“There are no replays now, it’s straight to penalties, and they are trying to streamline it now due to the league demands, but when you get a Premier League side at home you can’t stop the giant-killings,” said Glyn. “We’ve been giant killing for years, as have other clubs, and that’s what the FA Cup is all about, but we’ve got to put in the hard yards. You’ve got to go on the road, you’ve got to play at all sorts of places, weird and wonderful, and you’ve got to earn the right to get these ties, so that’s what we will be trying to do.
“It’s a great story (with Barrow). I have watched them and I know David Dunne from my Blackburn days. He likes to play football and he has got them knocking the ball around well. It’s going to be a test for us and a good game. It was always a fantastic competition and it always will be.
“It was a positive result (on Tuesday) and we scored great goals. I was probably a bit harsh with the boys, but looking back at it we did great, so I was pleased. Now we are in the FA Cup and we know what that means to the club, so we will be looking to do something positive there as well. It’s on the road, but the pitch is good up there and they are a footballing team, so we will go up there and give it our best.
“We are going to put a team out to win the game. We want to progress in the FA Cup and get the chance of a good home draw in the third round and maybe we get a live game, as we’ve seen before. We are going as strong as we can, we are going to pick the right team, and hopefully we get the right result.”
With Luke O’Neill and Jaakko Oksanen both on the long-term injury list, Glyn added that young players recalled from loan spells could get opportunities in the near future.
“Luke and Jaakko will not be back anytime soon,” added Glyn. “Underneath the National League the seasons are suspended, so we are getting our players back and getting them registered again. We have no midweek game coming up, but with the run of matches coming up after that we will need as many players as possible.”