Alex Woodyard keen to repay Dons fans who stuck by side despite huge setback of relegation from League One

Alex Woodyard says it would have been “hard” for him to walk away from AFC Wimbledon following relegation to League Two and aims to bring success back to the football club.

The 29-year-old midfielder penned a new two-year deal at Plough Lane to extend his stay and help the club win promotion back to League One.

Woodyard has been a mainstay in the side since joining on a free transfer from Peterborough United in 2020 during Glyn Hodges’ tenure.

The Gravesend-born player has made 85 appearances in all competitions during his two seasons in SW19 and has been club captain since Mark Robinson took charge permanently in late February 2021.

The combative centre-midfielder was due to be a free agent at the end of the season but committed his future following the appointment of Johnnie Jackson as manager.

“It’s a good feeling and something I wanted to get done because I have enjoyed my time here,” Woodyard told the South London Press.

“I’m settled – I enjoy the place and have a good relationship with the fans. I’m pleased to be staying for a couple more years.”

Woodyard, whose father supports the Dons and regularly attends home games, has spoken before about his desire to achieve success with the club and leave it in a better place than when he first joined.

Wimbledon have just suffered their first relegation as a phoenix club with their six-season stay in England’s third tier coming to an end.

“Being the sort of character that I am, it would have been hard to leave the club in the position where I was a part of the relegation last year,” said Woodyard.

“My ambition is to bring success back to the football club. The driving fuel this season will be to repay those Wimbledon fans for sticking with us for so long for last season.

“They were coming week in, week out, and not seeing their team win games, but still paying their money to come and watch us play football.

“It will be at the forefront of the players’ minds this year to bring success and repay the fans for all their support from last season.”

The Dons’ last win was a 2-0 victory at Accrington Stanley on December 7. After that they went on a 27-game winless run in League One.

Mark Bowen replaced Robinson as manager on March 30, but the former Reading boss could not save the Dons from finishing in the bottom four.

“There will be a number of reasons why relegation happened last season,” said Woodyard.

“It was tough for most of us. The new season is only around the corner, so I have put it to bed now. I’m definitely looking forward rather than backwards.

“It [the relegation] has got to hurt, but, at the same time, you have to quickly get over it because football is non-stop. We can’t take that hangover into League Two.

“With the new gaffer coming in with fresh ideas and the fresh experienced players he is bringing in, things are looking on the up. I’m excited to see what goes on next year.”

The Dons moved swiftly to secure Jackson as their new boss. The 39-year-old Jackson was only out of work for 13 days following his departure from South London rivals Charlton Athletic.

Jackson, who took over from Nigel Adkins, guided the Addicks to comfortable League One safety after being appointed with the club in the relegation zone.

The former Charlton, Tottenham and Colchester midfielder made more than 400 appearances during his professional playing career.

“He went in at Charlton last year in a difficult time and did really well to put them into a good position,” said Woodyard.

“He’s been a good player too, so hopefully all of the experiences he’s had in the game will help and improve us as players.”

Jackson brought in Terry Skiverton as assistant manager but has retained goalkeeper coach Ashley Bayes and first-team coach Rob Tuvey.

When asked if he believed it was important for Jackson to keep hold of Tuvey and Bayes to help with his transition into the Wimbledon managerial dugout, Woodyard said: “Definitely. Bayzo is probably the best goalie coach around, outside of the Premier League.

“There would have been a host of clubs wanting to take Bayzo, so it was very important that we kept him.

“The new gaffer could see himself in Rob because he transitioned from a player at Charlton into a young coach. Rob is a really good young coach who is up and coming. He’s got good ideas.

“It will be good for Rob to work alongside the gaffer and Terry. Terry seems very experienced – he’s been in football a long time. It’s all a good fit for the club.”

Woodyard suffered a torn calf muscle in the penultimate home game of the season during the 1-1 draw with Wycombe Wanderers, which ruled him out for the final two games.

But he plans to be available for the start of pre-season training on Monday.

After two seasons of scrapping against relegation, the Dons will be looking to change their outlook and battle for promotion back to League One at the first time of asking.

“That switch comes from winning games of football, something which we found hard at League One level,” said Woodyard.

“But I’m sure the gaffer will know what is needed to win games in League Two. It’s hard to win football games, but in successful teams that I have been a part of, the culture and mentality came from the success on the pitch.”

“It’s important that we win as many games as possible next season – then people grow and they will start to express themselves more.”

INSET PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD