Jake Reeves driven to take AFC Wimbledon back to level he left them at before he transferred to Bradford City

BY EDMUND BRACK
edmund@slpmedia.co.uk

Jake Reeves is relishing the challenge of taking AFC Wimbledon back to where he left them when he joined Bradford in the summer of 2017.

The 30-year-old rejoined the South Londoners over the summer after six years away.

He played a crucial role in the 2015-16 League Two play-off winning campaign under Neal Ardley and also helped cement their spot in the third division.

After two-and-a-half seasons at Wimbledon, Reeves was snapped up by a Bradford team that had just suffered League One play-off heartbreak and were gunning for a shot at the Championship again.

Reflecting on his departure from the Dons, Reeves told the South London Press: “In hindsight, we should have pushed on a little higher than what we did.

“A club the size of Bradford is a sleeping giant. They had just missed out on promotion in the final to Millwall.

“It was a difficult one to turn down.

“I felt like I had done well at Wimbledon and left them in a good place. They were happy with the sum of money they got for me, so it kind of worked out both ways.

“I had said before that if the opportunity to come back to Wimbledon fitted and it was right at the time – being out of contract, which makes the deal a lot easier – then I would jump at it.

“The opportunity to come back to help the club get back to where I originally left it in the first place is a nice challenge.”
Reeves suffered an injury-hit spell at Valley Parade. He only made 46 appearances over three seasons, with a recurring groin problem stopping his career for 22 months.

“The start was incredible,” said Reeves. “I hit the ground running and I was getting man of the matches. We were doing really well.

“I got injured after a couple of months. I just got to a point where I couldn’t play anymore. For two years I didn’t train with the team. I was either in the gym or doing my own stuff – I just couldn’t get fit.

“My Bradford career never really got started.

“It was unfortunate, but it is what it is. I can’t look back and say what if? It’s just how it goes. It was a spell that was part of my journey and story.”

Reeves was Johnnie Jackson’s first signing over the summer, with the midfielder one of 12 new faces through the doors at Plough Lane as the club committed to a squad overhaul.

Lewisham-born Reeves had just won promotion to League One with Stevenage, turning out 41 times for them as they finished runners-up to Leyton Orient.

But just three days after the season came to an end, ex-Addicks midfielder Jackson had already presented the out-of-contract Reeves with a chance to return.

Reeves said: “I already knew that the gaffer liked me, because he worked with a couple of lads I played with at Stevenage and they told me he had been asking about me and seeing what I was going to do.

“It felt a little bit surreal coming back. When you leave places, you never know if the opportunity will come up again.

“Normally at our level, you leave a club and go elsewhere. You then become a little bit older and the club could be going in another direction.

“Some clubs go younger and a couple of years before, Wimbledon were doing that.

“I actually spoke to Robbo (Mark Robinson) when I left Notts County to let him know I would be a free agent that summer (at the start of the 2021-22 season).

“I was probably a little bit too old for the way that they were going. But things change. It was never really on the cards until this summer.

“It’s been seamless – almost like I never left.”

Wimbledon’s start to the season has seen them only suffer defeat once – a heavily-rotated side losing 2-1 at home to Stockport – and after four League Two outings without a win, last weekend’s 3-1 victory at Walsall propelled them back up to eighth in the table.

“We have hit the ground running,” said Reeves, who has been made captain on his return to the club. “We’re in a good place. The main thing for us is all about performances. All of our performances have been really good.

“It’s brilliant that the club got the new stadium but unfortunate that they suffered the relegation. Sometimes taking a step back can help to fix those wrongs and propel you forward.

“It wasn’t nice looking at it from the outside. When you get a club promoted, you feel as though you have got them there and you want them to stay there.

“The club is in a much stronger place in our position now than when it was in League One.

“I have come here for one thing and that’s to try and get promoted this season – that’s the aim.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD AND PA