Gregory: Dons will hear the best of me (From Kingston Guardian)

Gregory: Dons will hear the best of me

9:57am Wednesday 21st July 2010

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Steven Gregory plans to give his vocal chords as much as his body a workout this season as he looks to grow into a more senior role at AFC Wimbledon.

Gregory was named as stand-in skipper for the Dons’ 6-2 friendly win at Corinthian Casuals on Tuesday night, before making way after 60 minutes.

And, despite being just 23 himself, the midfielder has become a veteran presence as Terry Brown looks to mould a young squad at Kingsmeadow, a fact Gregory recognises.

He said: “I am a pretty quiet guy in general and that is something that I really need to improve on.

“I am talking more on the pitch but I know it is something the coaches want a lot more of from me this season.

“The captaincy thing came as a bit of a surprise, and although I would love that role on a more permanent basis I reckon there are quite a few people ahead of me in the queue.

“I just need to be a bit more vocal out there.

“From my position sat in front of the back four I can see the play unfolding ahead of me so I really should be having more input and making myself heard a lot more.”

Jon Main (two), Dellano Sam-Yorke (two), Reece Jones and Gregory himself were on target against Casuals as the Dons bounced back from Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Millwall.

And the England C international feels Brown’s men are making more rapid progress this summer.

Gregory added: “I think as a squad we are gelling much, much quicker than we did last year.

“Going full time has made a big difference - being around each other day in, day out you learn a lot about each other.

“If you look at how the friendlies have gone it is a major improvement on last summer and I expect that to continue.”

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