AFC Wimbledon head for their first ever visit to the Greenhous Meadow tomorrow with one clear instruction ringing in the ears of their players – tighten up.

An impressive start to their debut season in the Football League has been undone by a trio of defeats in their last three outings.

Alarmingly for the new boys, they have conceded a dozen goals during that period, culminating in a 4-0 reverse at Torquay on Tuesday where Terry Brown’s side conceded four times in 26 minutes.

So it’s no surprise that a defensive theme has dominated the build-up to their visit to Shropshire.

“It’s the same bugbear of individual mistakes coming back to undermine us,” said assistant manager Stuart Cash, a defender-cum-midfielder who had a loan period at Shrewsbury from Nottingham Forest in the early 1990s.

“We need to get back to basics, tighten up the defence and remind them that only a couple of weeks ago we were looking a very good team indeed.

“There is no magic solution to these mistakes – it’s about hard work and concentration.”

Brown, who was denied promotion to the Football League with Aldershot by Shrewsbury in the Conference play-off final of 2004, will miss tomorrow’s game, taking time out from his football duties to spend time with his ill wife Suze, who faces a cancer operation next week.

Remarkable

Cash will again be assisted by Simon Bassey in the dug-out after the pair agreed to run team’s affairs while Brown attends to family business.

But, whatever happens in their debut season, AFC Wimbledon will remain on the crest of a wave after a remarkable rise through the divisions.

Formed in 2002 and placed in the Combined Counties League after the demise of Wimbledon, they have secured five promotions in nine seasons to break into the Football League.

l Accrington have swooped to sign veteran forward Bryan Hughes.

The 35-year-old has agreed non-contract terms and is awaiting international clearance.

“My friend Dean Windass was doing an Accrington game for Sky TV and spoke to John Coleman saying I was available,” he said. “He then invited me in and it’s all happened very quickly.”