JAMIE Stuart has called on his Dons team-mates to replicate the fighting spirit that earned them a dramatic draw at Crewe to secure League Two safety.
The AFC Wimbledon captain was part of the side that battled to recover a two-goal deficit in the dying minutes at Gresty Road last month.
Crucial games against teams flirting with the relegation places await the Dons in the coming weeks, starting with second from bottom Plymouth tonight.
And Stuart believes his side will need to produce the same kind of gutsy display that earned them that late point in the North West if they are to survive.
He said: “Personally, I’ve been here many times in my career. I know that when you’re playing the teams that are fighting for survival they’ll put their head in, they’ll put their foot in and fight and scrap – if we don’t match that we’ll come off second best.
“Every game is a massive game now until the end of the season. We have to start winning and picking up points so we’ll regroup and go again. We will show the fighting spirit we did against Crewe, the boys showed good fight there, and we need to show that again.”
The Dons skipper is known for his vocal qualities on the field and although he tries to inspire his team-mates on the pitch, Stuart insists there is enough experienced campaigners in the dressing room needed to steer the club to safety.
He added: “Every game I impose [my influence] on the pitch. We’re all experienced guys and I think we’ll be okay but we’re making it hard for ourselves at the moment. We need to pick up a win sooner or later or we could be in a dogfight.
“It’s going to be scrappy for the next few games against the likes of Dagenham and we’ve got to match them physically and be prepared to battle them."
