Our number one Nik Tzanev is having his best season to date, but far from resting on his laurels he wants another shutout at home to Mansfield tomorrow.
The New Zealand international has kept 13 clean sheets in League Two this campaign, including penalty saves at Tranmere and more recently at home to Stockport. Tans is also one of a number of players who have made one hundred appearances for the club.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be at my best, because I’d never improve,” said Tans after final preparations in New Malden today for Saturday afternoon’s game. “Everyone has room to improve.
“I look back over every game and see what I can do better and how I can improve. Every game builds on that performance from the previous week, and just being able to learn from that situation I think is the main thing for me.
“I think it’s amazing that all these players have come through at Wimbledon and played so many games already, along with players that we’ve brought in as well. We have that core strength in the team and I think that will help us make progress in the future.
“Getting back on those clean sheets is our immediate focus. There have been a few mistakes where we can all help out. We’ve identified those things we could all help with to prevent those type of goals. The main thing is to get back to clean sheets and grind out results.
“There’s that added incentive with Saturday’s game as no goalkeeper or team wants to concede five goals, as we did at their place earlier in the season. There’s that added anger and aggression we can take into that match on the weekend.
“Building solidity throughout the team this season has been key. When you think about clean sheets, you think about the goalkeeper and defenders, but together as a team we’ve been very solid. I think that’s the main reason we’ve had so many. The relationship among everyone around the backline and the midfielders has been very strong, it’s a good record to have and hopefully we’ll add to it.”
Performing well under the spotlight with the Dons is likely to grab the attention of the national side, and adding more caps for the All Whites is something Tans would be open to in the future.
“It’s always difficult because it's so far away when it comes to having home games,” added Tans. “In the future though, there’s quite a few windows coming up and I think it’ll be a good opportunity to start afresh and potentially build-up that international profile as well.”
Our Goalkeeping Coach Ashley Bayes remains a major influence on his career, but Tans is also inspired by our Club President and former goalkeeper Dickie Guy.
“It’s great to have him back at matches, having been in hospital recently. I’ve been speaking to him throughout the whole time and he’s been messaging me after games, congratulating me. I’ve been getting quite close with Dickie and I’m just glad to see him better. Hopefully he keeps getting stronger and enjoys coming to our games.”
You can see the full pre-match interview with Nik Tzanev below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.