Jon Meades confident Dons have quality to avoid League One drop

By Anthony Scales

Jon Meades insists there is more than enough quality in the AFC Wimbledon squad to retain League One status.

The Dons are 18th in the table but saw their goal difference hit as they suffered a 3-0 loss to leaders Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday.

Asked if Wimbledon have the quality to stay up, the Wimbledon left-back replied: “Yes, of course there is.

“We’ve got great quality throughout the side and we’ve actually got a very good team spirit as well. We maybe didn’t show it [against Blackburn] but we’ll try and put [Tuesday’s result] behind us. We’ll rally together and go into Saturday [against Charlton].”

The Dons have already beaten this weekend’s opponents once this season, a 3-1 FA Cup second round success in early December.

Lyle Taylor netted twice with Cody McDonald also notching.

Former Wales under-21 international Meades said: “We put in a great performance. We need to try and replicate that, which we definitely can do.

“They’re all big games now. We’ve got 11 cup finals, it’s a bit of a cliche, but they really are. This is not the position we want to be in and we can’t waste any of those games.

“It’s a big game, going into Saturday, we’re going to be at home, hopefully the fans will get behind us and we’re going to be going for the three points.”

With injuries to a small squad forcing Wimbledon manager Neal Ardley to constantly tinker with his line-up, Meades has been a useful utility man.

“It’s something I enjoy, I’ve done it throughout my career,” said the 25-year-old who has played on both sides of defence and further up the park this season. “As long as I’m playing, I’m happy. I think left-back is probably my best position, that’s where I’ve spent most of my career so I just want to try and progress there. It’s where I’m most capable of doing what I want to do, but when I’ve played in midfield I’ve enjoyed that role and I think I’ve done pretty well.”

Meades was unsure where he will figure in tomorrow’s derby with right-back Barry Fuller limping off at the end on Tuesday night.

“I think Baz took a bit of a knock,” he said. “Baz is a bit of a warrior though, and hopefully will be alright for [Charlton]. With Darius [Charles] maybe coming back as well, we just need everyone fit and ready to go.”