AFC Wimbledon boss looking for a positive bounce back after shock FA Cup exit, but he's expecting a tough game at Peterborough United
Manager Johnnie Jackson has demanded the ‘real’ AFC Wimbledon turn up to tackle Peterborough United at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday.
Jackson and his players were left reeling after a dismal FA Cup defeat at home to National League Gateshead last weekend, just as Posh were celebrating a surprise win in the same competition over Cardiff City.
Jackson was critical of his players in public after the 2-0 loss, but he’s been pleased with the response he has seen from a team who have over-achieved considerably so far this season. They are currently sixth in League One, 18 places and 15 points clear of Posh.
"The FA Cup game is done now,” Jackson told the BBC. “There is no hiding away from the performance or the result and what I said in public I also said in private to the players.
"But I have seen the reaction I wanted in training, although that won't count for anything if we don’t back it up on Saturday. We can’t affect what has already happened, but we can respond in the right way in the next game we play. We are really keen on putting that result behind us. It’s a tough game, but it’s one we can win if the good version of us turns up and we play to our best.
"I’ve also reminded the players where we are as a club and how far we have come. One bad performance doesn’t make us a bad team and we deserve to be in a play-off position.
"Peterborough looked a different team last weekend, but it’s a very small sample size. It makes things a bit tricker for us in terms of planning, but if we play to our strengths and we are bang on it as a team we can cause them problems.
"I have good memories of Peterborough as one comfortable win there was my best chance of scoring a senior hat-trick, but it’s never an easy place to go. They usually have exciting young players who score lots of goals. The new manager has a very clear philosophy on how he likes the game to be played so we have to be prepared for that.”
Jackson scored twice in the first 35 minutes of a 5-1 Charlton win at Posh in a League One fixture in November, 2010. Posh went on to win promotion to the Championship, while Charlton finished 13th.