AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley is happy with the strength of his squad after bringing in two new additions ahead of Saturday’s match at home to York City.
The Dons have bought in much-needed reinforcements in the form of loan signings Darius Charles and Rhys Murphy recently after Adebayo Akinfenwa and Ryan Sweeney were ruled out through suspension.
Both are in contention for selection as Wimbledon look to get back to winning ways against a relegation-threatened York side who are without victory in six.
A poor run of form has seen Wimbledon go winless in five and lose two on the trot, dropping them to ninth in League Two — but still within three points of playoff positions.
Their opponents will be desperate for a win as they sit seven points from safety in 23rd position.
Ardley spoke of his joy in securing centre-back Charles on loan from Burton Albion.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” he said. “We’ve been looking for a long time for a centre-back, one with experience, one with knowledge.”
Injured duo Tom Elliott and Andy Barcham could be available after training this week, as well as Sean Rigg who has recovered from tonsillitis.
“When Ryan and Bayo come back from their suspensions we could have a real selection dilemma,” the Dons boss said.
“We feel we’ve got lots of options and really good strikers and if we can see our jobs out that little bit better than the last couple of weeks, we know we’ve got the talent to score down the other end.”
While Ardley acknowledges his side will be expected to win, he knows from personal experience how tough playing a team down the bottom can be and is wary of preventing an upset.
He said: “When we were fighting against relegation we went to several clubs and upset them so we’ve got to be on top of it and all we can do is focus on us.”
The club also urges fans planning on attending Saturday’s game to plan ahead as there is rail renewal and maintenance work taking place over the weekend.
Image courtesy of AFC Wimbledon TV via Youtube, with thanks
