Neil Ardley is confident that his AFC Wimbledon side will be ready for Stevenage tomorrow despite not having played a match for two weeks.
The Dons missed out on FA Cup action last weekend after losing to Forest Green Rovers in the first round and their last competitive fixture was a 1-1 draw with Leyton Orient at the end of November.
But Ardley believes his squad have remained focused during the break and the coaching staff have implemented a training schedule to prepare them for the League Two clash this weekend.
He told Dons Player: “Sometimes you can lose momentum but we’ve put together a plan to freshen the boys up and we have used it wisely in our coaching and our training.
“Last week we did a lot of fitness work and over the weekend we put sessions on for the team about taking responsibility, composing ourselves and finishing our chances.
“I don’t think there will be any excuses, hopefully we’ve got the balance right and we hope that it comes out in a really good performance on Saturday; we will be fresh and ready to go.”
There are no new injury concerns for Ardley who also revealed that Ade Azeez is fit to play having trained this week.
Long term absentees Andy Barcham and James Shea have also returned to training and are set to feature for the U21 side on Monday night.
Will Nightingale remains out but Ardley is pleased that his staff have managed to prevent many significant injuries this season.
In pictures: AFC Wimbledon fall to defeat at Kingsmeadow
He said: “The biggest blow was Will Nightingale.
“We’ve got high hopes for Will and we were hoping he would step up to the plate this year.
“Losing him has caused us a little bit of a problem but we are delighted because we’ve kept injuries to a minimum.
“The only ones we can really control are the muscle injuries and we’ve worked hard at that so it’s good when it comes off.”
Saturday’s opponents Stevenage sit 18th in the table and are managed by former Manchester United and England striker Teddy Sheringham.
Ardley can understand the challenges faced by Sheringham more than most as he too was a former Premier League footballer, now plying his trade as a manager in League Two .
He said: “The hardest part is getting to know the league and players.
“Pre-season they were still trying to get the players in and finding their feet and adapting their style to how he wanted to play.
“They have used the loan market very well and I look at their team and they are as good as most in the league now, if not better than some.
“We are playing them when they are in good form in the league and they’ve got good players who are all fit so it’s going to be really tough. “
