Johnnie Jackson has to make AFC Wimbledon change to fend off Port Vale and Doncaster | OneFootball

AFC Wimbledon's disappointing draw against Barrow leaves them vulnerable to a chasing pack, and Jackson must make changes to stop them

AFC Wimbledon suffered a disappointing and soul-crushing draw with Barrow over the past weekend, with the Dons dropping a two-goal lead in the final moments of the match.

And while it was still a point gained at the end of the day (particularly after Port Vale were beaten by Barrow on Tuesday), the manner of the collapse was disgraceful for a team sitting third in the league at the start of play.

It means that manager Johnnie Jackson now has a fair number of changes to make ahead of a trip to title-chasing Walsall to keep the chasing pack, headed by Port Vale and Doncaster Rovers, firmly at bay.

Marcus Browne, Jake Reeves could be heading for the bench

First up on the changes Jackson needs to fend off the competition from Vale and Donny, is to swap up some of the players that have been underperforming for a good amount of time.

Marcus Browne is arguably top of that list as, despite his X-Factor that he brings to the pitch with quality touches and silky dribbling, he rarely offers much else to the entire team effort.

There is the understanding that he is coming off the back of a lengthy injury layoff and is not quite the entire package, but there have been moments in games over the past month when Dons fans feel he could have made a much larger impact.

Firstly, he has found himself in areas where a pass, be it backwards and sensible, or forwards and a bit more risky, has been the best option, but instead has kept the ball for himself and has looked to pull off the sensational and put his name up in lights.

Then, especially evident on Saturday against Barrow, his pressing game is non-existent. Wimbledon, for so much of this season, have been a side that are known for being difficult to break down, and that starts with the forward line pressing. Albeit the main source of the press, Omar Bugiel, was away on international duty meaning the Dons were missing a core piece of their team, but that then requires others to step up, and Browne unfortunately has not.

On the subject of stepping up, captain Jake Reeves has been found wanting a little in the middle of the park in recent weeks in the eyes of a lot of fans.

When a lot of supporters around the stadium wanted their metronomic leader to control things from midfield like a conductor, he has been doing quite the opposite, letting some games just pass him by completely, only getting involved in anything going forward momentarily.

In fact, that has been the case so much that Ali Smith, who has been suffering his own dip in form, and Callum Maycock, who has only just returned from an injury-hit winter period, have started out performing him and look a better pairing in midfield than in a trio with Reeves, who some see as a weight dragging the team into a passive game, when ideally the Dons should be looking to play aggressive and take risks to win games.

But however much criticism both players, and others, get from the stands, there is a likelihood that Browne will probably keep his place ahead of the likes of Josh Kelly and Osman Foyo, and Reeves will never be dropped from the side given his leadership abilities, which means that the changes have got to come from how Jackson approaches the upcoming fixture in the West Midlands to keep Wimbledon ahead of the pack hunting them down.

Johnnie Jackson cannot afford another poor touchline performance

While a lot has been said about the XI on the pitch on Saturday, there has only been murmurings of how poor Jackson was once again on the touchline against Barrow.

To start off with, the team was set up far too defensively for a home match, and while it is perhaps good practice to play that way with a tough game coming up in the form of Walsall, it was, as stated, a home match, and fans expect a setup where the team attacks from the off, looking to make life as difficult as possible for teams.

Then, with the game stuck in a rather boring stalemate at half-time after a slow and lacklustre first-half, Jackson should have risked it, shown some impetus and put down an early marker in the second half by bringing on early changes. Albeit, keeping the same starting team on the pitch did eventually work, but if it was the case that the Dons were a goal or two down by the halfway mark and Jackson had stuck to the same principles, then it would not have reflected too well on him.

Which is why, even with Rovers and Vale, who can't quite overtake the Dons at the minute, but are certainly biting at the heels, Jackson has to start risking it more in home games. Both aforementioned teams are opposition that Wimbledon still need to face before the season is out, and while sticking to a more sensible approach for the Doncaster away game might be a more pragmatic thing to do, doing the same against the Valiants at home would not be.

The position the club has got to by this stage in the season has largely been down to how riskless Jackson and his team have been at times this campaign, but it is the business end of the season now, and promotion-chasing teams are going to be doing the absolute most to get themselves out of League Two.

A capitulation now would be devastating for the former Charlton boss, having built up such a brilliant team and got them into a highly promising position this season, but until the changes come, be it on the pitch with players rotated out for others, or on the touchline with tactics and approaches tweaked to make the most of the manic end to a season, there is going to be plenty of glancing over metaphoric shoulders to see how far behind Doncaster and Port Vale are.