AFC Wimbledon boss reveals why there is a “tinge” of disappointment at finish to season

AFC Wimbledon head coach Mark Robinson has revealed his team’s target went above and beyond simply securing survival.

Robinson took the reins with the Dons in a miserable run of results, which had seen them pick up just two points from 11 games. An upturn in form, including a recent six-game unbeaten spell which was built on four successive wins, has ensured survival.

“When I got the job, we had various targets but survival wasn’t one of them,” the Dons boss told the South London Press.

“Our actual target was to get the most points that the club had ever achieved in League One. I believe it was 57 points, so we’ve fallen short of that.

“The reason there was so much disappointment after the Rochdale game when we only got the point was because we’d set ourselves a target of two wins and a draw. The lads wanted to start creating new history, so we never talked about relegation or surviving. That was our minimum target – to have the most points that Wimbledon have ever had in League One. So there’s a tinge of disappointment that we haven’t achieved that.

“But along the way the lads have set other targets like the four successive wins, and there’s things the club haven’t done before, like the amount of goals scored and so on. It sounds like it’s very easy to say ‘oh we didn’t talk about [relegation]’ when you’ve achieved it, but honestly, we never talked about relegation or survival. Our targets were always way above that.”

PHOTO: PAUL EDWARDS