Mathias Kouo-Doumbe’s season only truly came to life in the final few months, but he admits to still being hurt by the Dons’ failure to reach at least the play-offs.
After recovering from an injury in pre-season which kept him out for the early part of the 2012/13 season, Mathias had to wait patiently for his chance to play for the Dons with his first game coming in late September when he featured as a second half substitute in the 4-1 win over Bury.
Mathias went on to make 11 appearances for the Dons by the end of December, but it wasn’t until a four-match suspension for Antony Kay that the door for regular first team football re-opened for the Frenchman.
The 33-year old played all seven of the Dons’ games in the final month of the season and helped keep five clean sheets, he picked up two Man of the Match awards and scored his only goal of the season in the 2-0 win over Swindon Town.
“My season started properly about a month ago,” Mathias told mkdons.com, “but it has still been a long season even though I didn’t play as much as I would have liked.
“I am disappointed that we didn’t manage to get into the play-offs this year, but I think it is important now that all the players have a good rest because even if some of us are still fresh physically, we are exhausted mentally.
“I am a really competitive person, I like to win and I hate losing, I can’t stand losing. The fact that we weren’t competing for promotion and didn’t make the play-offs is really hurtful and I am really disappointed.”
The centre-back is one of the longest serving players at the Dons having been at stadiummk since 2009. Mathias is currently in discussions with the Club with regards to his future but his main focus is to stay fit over the summer to ensure he is ready for the 2013/14 season.
“I have always tried to be carefully with my fitness to make sure I am able to play 90 minutes when I have been called upon. I’m always keen to do a lot of fitness work when I am not playing just to keep me fit and help me perform well when I’m needed.
“I like to get my rest over the summer, I always make sure I get a good rest at the end of the season and when pre-season gets a little closer I will step up my work and my fitness regime. It is important that you return fit because otherwise pre-season can be incredibly tough.”
