George Baldock praised the support of fellow midfielders Stephen Gleeson and Darren Potter after making two consecutive appearances for the Dons.
with a torn hamstring in January. Recovering from his injury, Baldock has worked hard to force his way into the first-team and he was rewarded with a cameo appearance against Tranmere Rovers last Saturday.mkstadiumThe 20-year-old battler had spent the first half of the 2012/13 season on loan at Tamworth before returning to
Then, after Dean Bowditch was forced to withdraw from Tuesday night’s clash with Crewe Alexandra after suffering a re-occurrence of a groin injury, Baldock, the brother of former Dons striker Sam, was called upon once again by Robinson to occupy a role on the right-hand side of an attacking three.
And the Steeple Claydon-born youngster revealed his delight at getting his opportunity to impress and thanked team-mates Gleeson and Potter for the help they have given him throughout the year.
Baldock said: “It’s hard for a young midfielder in this team to establish themselves as a regular. It takes time to blood into a team at my age and with centre midfield such a vital position, you can’t afford to bring somebody on just for the sake of it.
“Of course, I’ve also got players like Stephen Gleeson, Darren Potter, Luke Chadwick and Chris Lines in my way who are all, I believe, of Championship quality, especially Darren and Stephen, who I just feel are different class in this League.
“I’m close with both Potts and Glees and I’ll always ask them if we can do a bit extra on the training ground or I’ll ask for their advice on what I can work on. Those players can pass on some valuable experience and knowledge to me and I’m definitely somebody who always wants to learn, so it works out great.”
Baldock is one of many former Academy graduates who are currently plying their trade in the Dons first-team and the 5ft 9in middle-man was keen to credit the hard-working academy staff.
“I have to get credit for the youth team staff for the way they brought me up because it’s definitely helped now being in the first team.
“We’ve got a very talented bunch of lads coming through now and I’m very close with them all because I know how hard it is for them when they come into a first team environment. As long as they keep their feet on the ground then I think they can all go a long way.”
