Hodges: We had hoped to bag Seddon

Glyn Hodges has revealed that AFC Wimbledon were keen on a loan return for Steve Seddon – now their former full-back is set to face them tomorrow.

The 22-year-old impressed for the Dons in the second half of last season after being brought in by then boss Wally Downes.

And Hodges had been looking to strike another temporary deal for Seddon before he agreed to spend the remainder of this campaign at Portsmouth.

“We were in conversation with Steve and he has gone there,” said the Wimbledon manager.

“They are in a different market to us – they can get that calibre of player.

“They paid a good few quid for [Jon] Marquis. It’s a different level.

“The loans since we [Downes and Hodges] came in have all done well. We had Aaron Ramsdale and Michael Folivi have good loans last year. Steve signed a new deal at Birmingham and got in their team – and so did Ramsdale at Bournemouth.

“I’d have liked to have taken Steve back if there had been the possibility – because he was a big player for us and he is a year older and has improved since then.

“I’m sure he is in a better place with his career as well. We know what he can do. “We were probably a bit fortunate to get the three points [in the reverse fixture]. We know going to Portsmouth is a really difficult game but it’s one we’ll be prepared for and we’ll look forward to it.”

Hodges has had some movement out of his squad with striker Folivi and centre-back Ryan Delaney heading back to parent clubs Watford and Rochdale respectively. It frees up two loan slots as the Dons can only use a maximum of five in a match day squad.

The fact that Rochdale could not guarantee they would let Delaney stay for the duration of the season could potentially have left the League One outfit depleted.

“We were more than happy with the kid,” said Hodges. “He has done really, really well. But we didn’t want to get caught short. We spoke to Rochdale and didn’t really get a clear picture about if they would call him back.

“We have to cover ourselves. We wish him all the best in the future and his career.

“We spoke to Michael. He would get close to coming back from injury and then wasn’t fit. We can’t carry that – we’ve got enough injuries at the moment with some of our ones on permanent deals.”

Arguably the biggest concern is whether Brentford will recall Marcus Forss. The Finnish U21 international has scored 11 goals in 17 games for the Dons. But Hodges makes confident noises about keeping the 20-year-old forward and goalkeeper Nathan Trott (inset) on loan from West Ham United.

“I expect and hope to,” he said. “They’ve done well. If you look at Marcus he is scoring goals and near the top of the charts – if he carries on he could be top goalscorer and is playing regular football.

“It is a two-way street – we are helping him and he is helping us. I’m hoping he’s as happy as we are.

“Nathan is playing plenty of games. It’s hard for clubs to get these lads out on loan because they can’t demand you play them – so it can be hard to pitch them at the right level. But the recruitment process we go through works quite well.”