Mark Robinson talks about “hugely important” target after taking charge at AFC Wimbledon

BY DANIEL MARSH

Mark Robinson has opened up on his aims after being appointed Wimbledon head coach role on a permanent basis – with League One survival unsurprisingly the main goal.

Robinson was appointed on a permanent basis a week ago after impressing the club’s hierarchy during his interim spell in charge. Tuesday night’s 1-0 victory over Gillingham was his second in three league games at the helm following Glyn Hodges’ departure from the club.

The result lifted Wimbledon out of the relegation zone at Bristol Rovers’ expense, but they are still facing a battle to retain their third tier status for another year, with Robinson under no illusions that survival is the focus.

But he also spoke of the importance of growing a culture and environment alongside getting results to really help the club thrive in the long-term.

“It’s hugely important, and that’s obviously my remit,” said Robinson when discussing the Dons’ battle to stay in the division.

“It’s the thing that I need to get right. I’ve always been a builder of cultures and environments. Before I got back into football, I worked in environments where it was about building things, when I started the academy it was about building something for the future.

“That’s what this football club wants – I’d like to think that’s why they’ve employed me, because they feel that I can build something. But by the same token, I realise we’ve got to win football matches at the same time. It’s so important to get that balance right; to keep building to the future and what that looks like in terms of cultural and learning environments, but at the same time I realise that we’ve got to win football matches and stay up. That’s the balance I’ve got to get right and to try and not be too philosophical about it – we need to win football matches while we’re building.”

Robinson has made a point of discussing behaviours with his squad since he took the reigns, and gave some insight into the approach after the match.

“When the game starts you’re not in control of what goes on there, that’s why I’ve always been such a massive believer in player ownership. This is what I’ve been trying to work on with the players – they’ve been asking me questions, ‘what is it you want from us?’ I’ve said I want you to take ownership.

“I think that’s foreign to some of them, but that’s the way I see it, because I can’t play the game when they cross that line. So I want them to take ownership in training. Education is about producing leaders and people who can take ownership, because once they cross that line, they’re making the decisions. You’re there to hopefully add those layers and bring things back in.

“The big thing in football is people revert to type under pressure. People do that because they rely on everyone else to tell them things – if they become empowered people because you give them ownership, then hopefully they don’t revert to type and they enjoy it.”

PHOTO: SEAN GOSLING