Birmingham loanee wants to show raw talents at AFC Wimbledon

BY EDMUND BRACK

Sam Cosgrove has outlined how he plans to get his confidence back at AFC Wimbledon and says that he does not feel any pressure about replacing Ollie Palmer.

The 25-year-old joined the Dons on deadline day from Birmingham City for the rest of the season after he was recalled from his loan spell with fellow League One side Shrewsbury Town.

Cosgrove only managed to score two goals in 17 League One appearances during his time at Montgomery Waters Meadow. But he made just nine starts under Steve Cotterill.

The six-feet four-inches tall forward was brought in by the Dons after they sold Palmer to National League side Wrexham for £300,000.

When asked if he felt any pressure about replacing the Dons’ top goalscorer, Cosgrove told the South London Press: “Ollie Palmer was such an integral part of the club and a brilliant servant.

“I wouldn’t say that I feel any pressure to replace him, but I feel pressure on myself to show the Wimbledon fans how good I can be.

“I’m not exactly young anymore at 25, and I have had more than 100 appearances in various leagues, so I have got some decent experience. Hopefully, I can bring a fair bit of that know-how to what is a very young squad.

“It’s an impressive squad as well. They’re young, but they’re playing week in, week out, for a reason.”

Only a year ago, during the January transfer window, Cosgrove’s prolific form at Aberdeen, where he scored 47 goals in 103 appearances, convinced Birmingham City to pay a fee in the region of £2million.

And he hopes to rediscover his goalscoring touch under the tutelage of head coach Mark Robinson, with the Dons immersed in a survival battle.

“It’s stripping my game back down to the basics,” he explained when asked how he wants to go about regaining his confidence.

“Sometimes, as a footballer, you can get a lot of analysis and lots of input from different angles, and I was maybe overloaded a bit.

“I want to come here and show the raw side of my game – the aggression, hard running and the hard-fighting number nine that I can be.

“I am always learning and trying to tweak my game. If one thing doesn’t go well, it can always push me forward in another direction. I am learning my game all the time. Hopefully those good and bad experiences can help me out.”

Cosgrove had offers from other clubs but claims what stood out when choosing Plough Lane was “the ethic of the club.”

“As soon as I heard that Wimbledon came for me, I delved into the depth of the history, and I found out that it was such a peoples’ club – the fans have got such an integral part here,” said Cosgrove, born in the Yorkshire town of Beverley.

“Another big thing as well was that the manager called me on Friday night and we had a good chat. He talked me through the philosophy of the club and the points that he implements – it was a massive selling point for me coming here.

“I’m really excited. I was here on Saturday with Shrewsbury, and the front four really stood out as an attacking threat – really good technically on the ball and good pace on the counter-attack. Hopefully, I can link up with that and be a success.”

Cosgrove could make his first appearance for Wimbledon in their South London derby with Charlton Athletic tomorrow.

“I was gutted that it didn’t get over the line quickly enough for me to play on Tuesday,” he said.

“I have been here all day watching the warm-ups, and I am just desperate to get out.

“Hopefully, I can get a chance on Saturday and show everyone what I am about.”