Johnnie Jackson reserved special praise for our captain Jake Reeves, after the midfielder made his 150th appearance for the Dons against Salford City today.
Now into his third spell in a Wimbledon shirt, Jake has taken on his new role as a leader with ease and continues to put in brilliant performances at the heart of our team.
He was ever-present today as our side came mightily close to turning one point into three when we should have had more to show for our efforts.
Here Johnnie discusses the performance as a whole, highlights the importance of Jake to our team and looks ahead to the midweek trip to Portsmouth in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
ON THE PERFORMANCE…
I have to say that the performance was outstanding. We’ve come to a tough place and dominated. We created plenty of chances and limited them to next to nothing. I’m really proud but frustrated that we didn’t put the finishing touches on what we deserved. It’s what the lads out there would’ve deserved and the supporters who travelled.
Defensively it was as good as you’ll see. Matt Smith is a real threat for them, one of the top scorers in the league. We knew he’d pose problems for us but our two centre-halves were brilliant up against him, to the point that they made changes to bring different threats on. We dealt with those as well, I can’t ask for much more from the lads. If we keep playing at the level that we’re playing at, it won’t happen often – it can’t.
ON JAKE REEVES…
He’s been key to everything. He’s been a credit to himself and the Club in what is now his third stint with us. 150 games for any club is brilliant. We knew Reevesy loved it here during his previous spells, when I spoke to him I could tell that he was desperate to come back. He’s been outstanding for me. He’s my eyes and ears on the pitch, he’s our leader and everything we could want from a captain.
We coach during the week and give instructions but there’s very little you can do when the game starts. So having someone who knows exactly what we want is invaluable. Speaking to him and seeing the way he goes about things, he probably will be a manager one day. He’s already showing the traits required.
ON PORTSMOUTH…
We’re going into a run of six games in 16 days. We’ll have to look at the squad and how we use it, be smart about it. We will always pick a team that we feel can win. We built a squad for this situation. It’s going to be hectic, we’re going to need everyone, which is what I’ve said to the lads. Everyone will play a part. We want to go there and get through.
PICS: Clive Howes (Pro Sports Images)