Nigel, who was the Dons' captain until he signed for West Ham earlier this year, says:
"They are not getting hammered and they will do well when they come up against us.
"I am very sad to see where they are at the moment but that is not down to me and it is not in the players' hands either - I just hope they can come out of this.
"It is a very young team but they are learning every game they play and hopefully they can build for the future."
Picking out the danger men left in a squad that has been decimated by transfers out of the club because of their financial problems, Nigel says:
"They have Wade Small, but I don't think he is fit to play, Malvin Kamara, Dean Lewington, Jermaine Darlington...there are still a few people there and I do keep in touch, talk to them, visit them - but I have to be ruthless and all that matters to me is that West Ham get the three points.
"They will come and try to frustrate but we must not worry about them - only ourselves."
Looking back at the weekend, he says:
"We are disappointed about Saturday's game but that is behind us and we must look to the future now; we have a tough game against Wimbledon who I feel will play similar to Walsall.
"But hopefully we will persevere and get the three points.
"We need to be hard on ourselves and look on it that we let three points go on Saturday; with the quality we have got at this club we should win every game."
Nigel is adamant that West Ham can still go up automatically - a win would reduce the gap to West Brom to seven points - and he concludes:
"Anything is possible in this game; it is a very tight league, all you need is four wins and you can be right up there.
"I am very confident."