Johnnie Jackson has put promising midfield duo Kwaku Frimpong and Alfie Bendle on alert ahead of Saturday’s trip to the Crown Oil Arena to face Rochdale.
Tough-tackling Frimpong and skillful 17-year-old Bendle have been given the call in the absence of George Marsh (ankle) for four to six weeks and Paris Maghoma, who serves a suspension. Alex Woodyard is gradually being eased back into action, having been out since April with a calf injury.
“These boys need to be ready,” said Johnnie after Wednesday’s training session. “No doubt they are going to be called upon. They are going to be needed in the coming days with the schedule that we’ve got – so they’ve got to be ready. Alfie Bendle has been biding his time, waiting for opportunities. Kwaku Frimpong has returned from his loan, and it looks like he’s benefitted from that as well.”
“Marshy being out is a real blow because we’re really light in that area of the pitch. Woody is only just coming back to full fitness, so we’re trying to build him up sensibly. Paris Maghoma is suspended for the game as well, so we’ll have to find alternatives and how we go about giving ourselves the best opportunity. We’re disappointed for George because he has been an important player for us this year.”
In defence, it’s not clear yet how much of a role Lee Brown will be able to play having been laid low due to illness. Meanwhile, Alex Pearce has suffered a minor setback with his return from injury.
“Browny missed out at the weekend as he’s been ill, he’s been really suffering,” said Johnnie. “He’s missed out on a fair chunk of training, but he’s been back with the group today and feeling as though he’s back to himself a little bit. He missed the game and seven to ten days of training, so we’ll have to look at him closely over the next couple of days and see what his energy levels are like, but he should be back involved as far as available for selection."
“Pearcy is probably going to miss out again. He’s had a little setback with his groin, but nothing too major. We lost him late for the game against Sutton and we’d done a lot of work around that, but he picked up the injury in training on the Friday, and we had to sort of reshuffle the pack. That wasn’t helpful, but with Pearcy hopefully we’ll get him back for next Tuesday at home to Crewe or the following Saturday.”
Saturday’s hosts Rochdale are just a point behind us in the table, having won three of their last four league games. It’s the first of eight games for the Dons in less than a month.
“They’re in decent form since Jim Bentley has gone in there,” said Johnnie. “There’s been a little bit of an upturn. They’re very close in the table to us. They’ll be looking to keep up their run of form and we see it as a good opportunity. It’s important that we take them very, very seriously.”
You can see the full interview with Manager Johnnie Jackson below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.