AFC Wimbledon boss Neal Ardley is convinced David Connolly and Craig Tanner are nearing the end of their personal journeys to top form.

Ardley admitted the strikers were works in progress when they arrived at Dons in January from Portsmouth permanently and Reading on loan respectively.

And so it would seem as both have failed to find the back of the net in seven appearances between them.

Most recently, the pair could not break down the meanest defence in League Two as Shrewsbury Town ran out 2-0 winners at New Meadow on Saturday.

However, Ardley can see progress and believes they are closing in on being the finished article.

He said: “With David, he has the experience to deal with life in League Two, and he knows how to handle opponents.

“It was down to us to bring him up to speed with our shape and his role within it.

“He’s taken on a lot of information about our shape, and you can see he is getting on top of it.”

He added: “With Craig, and his age, it is more of a physical thing than a mental thing.

“We’ve played him in various positions because we did not want to put too much pressure on him straight away – he was always going to be dipped in and out.

Surrey Comet:

Learning the ropes: Craig Tanner, on loan at AFC Wimbledon from Reading

“There is no doubt he has outstanding ability, but he needed to learn how to play off Adebayo (Akinfenwa) for example, and how to play in League Two.

“But both he and David are improving all the time, and it won’t be long before they are at their best.”

Ardley has been boosted by the return of full-back Jack Smith, who came through two reserve matches with no reccurrence of the thigh injury he picked up before Christmas.

“Because Jack has been out for six weeks or so, it’s like he is going through another pre-season,” Ardley said.

“We have a tough schedule of three games in seven days, and it would be stupid to not use a player of Jack’s quality at some point.”

There was also good news about James Shea, who came off during the Shrewsbury game with a suspected broken nose and concussion.

However, both fears proved unfounded, and the 23-year-old shot-stopper is expected to start against Luton Town at the CRRS this weekend.