Wycombe Wanderers manager Mike Dodds said that he and his players had learnt ‘a very harsh lesson’ in their League One playoff semi-final defeat to Charlton Athletic when speaking after the game.
Matt Godden’s 81st-minute strike has seen the Chairboys’ season come to a heartbreaking end as they have failed to win promotion despite being top of the league, and 17 points above the Addicks, on New Year’s Day.
Dodds Despondent After Playoff Loss
Speaking to the media after narrowly losing one of the most tightly-contested playoff ties in recent history Dodds said:
“There is obviously a huge amount of emotion around the final outcome. I felt it was two well-organised teams that cancelled each other out.
I knew coming into this leg that it would be decided by a moment and, unfortunately, I am the one who has not had that moment. I would like to wish Charlton the best at Wembley on behalf of everyone at the football club.”
Reflecting on the big chances that fell the way of Garath McCleary and Xavier Simmons just five minutes before Godden’s goal, Dodds defended his players.
“I am not going to point fingers at my team because I felt they gave everything, but we did not take our moment. They had one moment and they have taken their opportunity. It is a very harsh lesson.
We will use this pain as fuel for next season. We will come back as a much better version [of ourselves] and do everything we can to get out of this league next season.”
Dodds was also asked how incredible the Chairboys supporters were on Thursday night.
“They always are. I do not expect anything less of them. They have the full backing of us as staff and players. They have been immense over the last two games and they have been excellent for me personally.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to deliver success for them right now, but I am 100% confident that I will deliver success for this football club.
We need a period of reflection and we have to make sure that we correct the ‘wrongs’ that have happened.”
Writer’s View
It has been somewhat of a strange season for Wycombe. With Matt Bloomfield at the helm in the early part of the season, they were competing against Birmingham City at the very top of the league despite having nowhere near as much investment as the Blues.
However, the last five games have been incredibly disappointing. Playing against three high-quality teams, who all finished in the playoff spots, Mike Dodds’ men have floundered. They have only scored one goal in these five games whilst conceding a staggering nine times. In fact, if they had found a way to win their last three games of the league season, the Chairboys would have achieved automatic promotion.
But, losing your manager midway through a season is a large hurdle for any club to overcome. Additionally, this is Dodds’ first permanent managerial role in senior football and he will have learnt a lot in the last few months which he can use to aid Wycombe’s promotion push next campaign.
