New left-back Lee Brown is our only fresh injury concern for tonight’s clash with League One leaders Rotherham United at The Cherry Red Records Stadium.
“The only slight doubt that we have at the moment is Lee Brown,” said Rob Tuvey. “He’s got a tight glute, so we’ve just got to check on that, but apart from him we’re all in good health. Paul Kalambayi will be back in contention; I think Saturday’s game at Charlton came a little bit too soon for him.”
Wimbledon remain without hamstring victims Henry Lawrence, Alex Woodyard, and Aaron Pressley, who is recuperating back with his parent club Brentford. Our Assistant Head Coach also reported that our new striker is shaping up well.
“Sam Cosgrove is looking sharp,” said Rob, after he came off with cramp at the weekend. “Speaking to Sam, it was great to get those minutes into his legs. It was a really promising debut for him and I think there’s plenty more to come as well. He’s definitely someone who knows where the goal is in training.
“I thought he posed a real threat on Saturday and brought others into play, but he can also lead the line on his own really well. We’re excited to see him. Obviously on Saturday we’d have liked to have kept him on longer, but it’s his first real minutes in a game for a long time so it’s just about easing him in.”
Visitors Rotherham, under the leadership of Paul Warne, have a six-point lead at the top of Sky Bet League One, and The Millers were worthy winners in our previous meeting in September.
“They are top and deservedly so,” said Rob. “We’ve watched quite a few of their games and they are a tough team to break down. They’ve got a great manager who has got a great philosophy in terms of the way that they want to play.
“You can see from their league form so far this season and the way they’ve performed in recent seasons that they are a great side. I thought when we played them earlier this season that it was the first time we probably came off second best. Saying that, we had some really good moments there, so we’ve got to build on them. They are definitely one of the toughest tests we’ve faced this season.”
A surprise outcome from Saturday’s defeat at Charlton was how we failed to deal with set-plays, but Rob is confident that we will return to form soon.
“I think you’ve got to go off trends at the moment,” said Rob. “Our stats involving set-pieces this season back that up. We need to keep getting in the areas and keep seeing success. Winning those set-pieces, the work that Andy (Parslow) does, and the detail that goes into it – we know we’ll have a lot of success from them in the future.”
Listen to the full preview of tonight’s game with Rob Tuvey below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.