Wycombe v Bournemouth

I've been asked to cover the game at Adams Park tomorrow where Bournemouth are the visitors and this is one of the games that the Chairboys really should be looking to win if they are to survive their first season back in League One.

Bournemouth threatened to upset the odds and were pushing for promotion last season, but they are finding life a little tougher this time around. Having said (typed) that, they have taken seven points from their last three league games and so are no mugs.

I hope that Wycombe's defeat to Fleetwood in the FA Cup last weekend has left no psychological scars on the squad because there is no doubt in my mind that - on the evidence I have seen this season - they are more than capable of beating the drop.

Apparently some Wycombe fans have started to get on manager Gary Waddock's back - ah, what short memories we football fans have.

The Buckinghamshire Advertiser and Bucks Free Press have quoted Waddock as saying:

“I’ve had a lot of challenges since I’ve been at this club. This is another challenge for me but I’m one to roll my sleeves up and battle through it. You become stronger as an individual and as a group when you come through these periods. People will say what they like, all I’m doing is concentrating on trying to turn this around.”

Wycombe have a reputation for bringing through good young managers and the board will know that - despite their current problems - Waddock is precisely that. As far as I am aware, the players are also solidly behind him and keeper Nikki Bull has said in his column for the Bucks Free Press:

"The one man I felt most sorry for was the gaffer, a man who has brought nearly every single one of us to the football club, put his faith in us, shown us loyalty and above all, shown us complete respect as players. Unfortunately this respect has not been repaid to him by us as players in our performances in the last couple of months.

When results are bad at a football club, the manager is always an easy place to start in terms of looking to put things right, but in this case, the responsibility for these performances lies solely at our feet. The manager and the coaching staff prepare us in the best possible way and give us all the tools and facilities to go out and produce on a Saturday.

The one thing the gaffer cannot coach is heart, passion and will to win once a player goes over that white line. It’s time for us as a group to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask ourselves some tough questions. Are we doing enough? Are we as committed as we could be? Are we going through the motions knowing full well our wages will still be in our accounts come the end of the month?"

His words speak volumes when the question. "Has the manager lost the dressing room?" is asked. In my experience, if you have an honest bunch of players who take their responsibilities seriously and stick together, then, more often than not, you'll come out of the other side smiling. From what Nikki says, Waddock has no worries on that score.

And Cherries boss Lee Bradbury is certainly not taking Wycombe for granted. He told the local newspaper The Daily Echo:

"Gary Waddock has got his team working hard and the crowd really get behind them. They have got some good players and some good goalscorers so it will be another difficult game."