AFC Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson wants his team to match the passion of a “partisan crowd” in today’s grudge game against MK Dons at Plough Lane.
Wimbledon are aiming to get their play-off challenge back on track against an MK Dons side that are fifth, three points off the automatic promotion spots.
“First and foremost, we need to have that belief, that energy and that real zip about us,” Jackson said on the Dons’ website. “It’s going to be bouncing out there. It’s a massive game for the supporters and we recognise that.
“We need to mirror that on the pitch. When that whistle goes, the boys have got to show that we know what it means to us.
“The focus is on performance. I think if we get that right, the rest will follow.”
“We’ll have a partisan crowd. I don’t need to tell them, they do it every time we’re here and they do it when we’re on the road.
“We realise there’s an extra edge to this one. What we do know is that our supporters are going to show up and make us proud, so it’s important that we do that as a team tomorrow and the boys need to know that.”
Jackson is confident he will get a response from his side after their 1-0 defeat to Doncaster Rovers last weekend.
“I’ve loved what I’ve seen this week,” Jackson said. “We all got on that coach disappointed last week, knowing that we’ve got this big game and a week to prepare for it.
“Training has been really good. It’s been really intense. Everyone wants to play in this game, so there’s going to be some disappointment amongst the group. Because of that though, it really drove standards and there’s an extra edge about us as they know how important it is.”
Meanwhile, Wimbledon fans have been getting in the mood for the game…
