Stephen Gleeson is looking forward to returning his former club Wolves this weekend but insists his focus is solely on helping MK Dons earn a valuable three points.
Although his chances to impress were limited at Wolves, the Irishman has nothing but fond memories of his time at Molineux Stadium and admits he has been looking forward to Saturday’s clash since the fixtures were revealed back in June.
Speaking earlier this week, the Irishman said: “I’m looking forward to it. The minute the fixtures came out I looked for it straight away because I had a great time there and met some brilliant people. I still have friends up there and it’s a club I always look out for.
“It was a brilliant time for me. I moved to the club when I was 15 and I didn’t leave until I was 21. It was the right time for me to move on when I did, because I wasn’t playing. It wasn’t anything personal, I wasn’t forced out; it was my decision.
“(Saturday) will be my first time going back. I knew I’d play against them one day but I didn’t think it would be in League 1. To see such a massive club in League 1, it is sad. I know how the good the fans are and how good the people are there so it was hard to see them go through back-to-back relegations.
“They will be back in the Premier League one day, I’m sure, but hopefully we can get this win on the weekend and then they can go on and do what they need to do.
“Saturday’s massive for us and during the game none of this will matter to me. It’s going to be a great match and I’m looking forward to it.”
Gleeson and his team-mates are fully aware of the importance of Saturday’s match having failed to take maximum points from their last three League games and the talented playmaker is confident the side has what it takes to get out of their current slump and return to form before the New Year.
He added: “(Wolves) are such a massive club and if you can’t get up for a game like this then I don’t think you should be in the industry. There’s going to be a very good crowd it’s at an unbelievable stadium and on a great pitch. If we can get a result up there, it will hopefully kick-start our season.
“The first year I was here, we were quite low but I think this is the worst it’s been because we are a better side than we were back then. It’s a low time for the club but we have good characters in the dressing room and hopefully we can put it right.
“I don’t think we’re the type of players that will lie down and just take this and I can honestly say to the fans that we’re not doing that. We are doing are best to get out of this run; we’re not just coming into training and going home, we’re working extra hard to analyse everything.
“Over Christmas we have a lot of games back-to-back and it’s time, I think, for a lot of players to stand up and be counted. It’s our busiest time of the year so we can’t afford to have anyone hiding on the pitch.
“As I’ve said, it’s probably the worst position I’ve been in since I’ve been here so we need everyone out their giving their all and working together and hopefully we can get out of this slump.”
Tickets for this game be available from the kiosk at thecentre:mk until 7pm on Thursday 12th December and until 5pm on Friday 13th December from the Box Office at stadiummk.There will be no opportunity to purchase tickets after this time as tickets will NOT be available to buy on Saturday.