Dons head coach expecting sharpness to be back for FA Cup tie at Boreham Wood

BY EDMUND BRACK

Mark Robinson has said that he and his AFC Wimbledon side are looking forward to the FA Cup fixture away at National League side Boreham Wood on Saturday and want to make amends after the 3-0 loss away at Oxford.

The Dons, who are 18th in the League One table with four games in hand, travel to Meadow Park with a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup at stake.

Luke Garrard, who played for AFC Wimbledon and made more than 100 appearances during his four years with the South Londoners, has taken Boreham Wood up to fourth in the National League.

Dons head coach Robinson, managing in the third round of the competition for the first time, said: “We can’t wait.

“We’re really keen to get the preparation right and get the sharpness back, and we’re really looking forward to it.

“We have got eight weeks then of Saturday and Tuesday games, so we have got to make sure that the whole squad is sharp, fit, and ready for that spell.”

Reflecting on Wimbledon’s last outing, a 3-0 defeat at Oxford last Wednesday, which ended a run of five games unbeaten, Robinson added: “It was bizarre – it didn’t feel real. We know why it is, and we’re trying to address it now because we know how long we have until the next game.

“The lads just said they were running on empty – they just felt as though they had no energy. We didn’t show up – we didn’t want the ball. Physically and mentally, we were just way off it.

“When we played them at home, they play with real energy, and they run, and because we matched them, we had a chance.

“The preparation was all over the place. People take for granted, mentally, how much it takes out of a player when you’re on a really good run of form, you’re preparing for a game, and then it gets cancelled at the last minute. Then you’re preparing for the next one, which gets cancelled last minute.

“If we had known that we were going to go 18 days without a game, we would have had a mini pre-season – we would have given them a couple of days off and then a mini pre-season to make sure that they were sharp.

“It was the only time that I have ever seen us like that. We knew that we had nine days leading up to the FA Cup tie after Oxford, so we’re trying to rectify it by getting as much work into them as we can.”