Stephen Gleeson has played every minute of every game so far this season and the talented Irishman has no intention of slowing down.
Gleeson, 25, suffered a difficult 2012/13 season after breaking his foot in training and as a result he featured in only 37 games compared to 46 the previous campaign. The former Wolves trainee was sidelined for just over three months in total, the longest spell on the treatment table in his career.
But now back fully fit and beginning to illustrate the form he showed at the back end of the last year, Gleeson insists he doesn’t want to miss another minute of the action, whatever the competition or opponent.
Speaking to MK Dons Player ahead of Saturday’s match against Sheffield United he said: “I’ve played every minute of every competitive game this year so personally I’ve been pleased.
“The Gaffer asked me last week if I wanted to play against Sunderland and I told him straight away that because I’ve missed three months last season I want to play every minute of every game this year.
“I know I only missed three months of a season but a footballer’s career doesn’t last very long and to have a portion of that taken away is tough, so it means a lot just to be back involved. It’s my aim, certainly, to play in every game.
“In the last two or three weeks I’ve begun to feel fit and somewhere close to where I was at the beginning of last year and playing in more games will only help that.”
Barring any tactical surprises from Dons manager Karl Robinson, Gleeson is likely to line-up alongside Darren Potter in centre midfield for this weekend’s trip to Bramall Lane and the Dublin-born man is expecting a tough afternoon.
“(Sheffield United) are a massive Club and I don’t think their fans will settle for anything less than play-offs this year. They’re full of quality and they have a massive squad. I’ll be very surprised if they’re not there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
“It’ll be another great test for us. These last four games we’ve played wouldn’t look out of place in the Championship but we never feared the big sides and I fully expect us to go out and do what we did for 75 minutes against Sunderland in the week, for 90 minutes on Saturday.”
