Dons manager Karl Robinson has warned his players not to provide Swindon with a hangover cure when they host the Robins at stadiummk this weekend.

Robinson's side finally kick-off their npower League 1 campaign at home on Saturday against last season's beaten play-off finalists, managed by former Dons boss Danny Wilson.

Swindon have made a sluggish start to the new campaign, picking up just two points from their opening three games and knocked out of the Carling Cup on their own patch by Leyton Orient.

The Dons, meanwhile, have three wins under their belts already and will be buoyed by Tuesday night's League Cup giant-killing of Premier League Blackpool.

But Robinson says his team must tread with caution against their Wiltshire opponents, who may only be one result away from shaking off the cobwebs.

He said: "I'll be very surprised if they're not up and around the play-off places this season. Don't look at their start as a reflection on where they're going to finish because every good side goes through a blip.

"They're just waiting for one big result and you tend to find that, when you go through a run of bad results, it's often a game you don't expect to get anything out of that can turn the corner.

"We've got to be mentally prepared and physically ready for the task, to make sure that result doesn't come against us."

Since that play-off defeat to Millwall in May, the Robins have had to cope with the loss of leading scorer Billy Paynter, who joined Leeds United in the summer to leave a sizeable void in Wilson's squad.

Frenchman Vincent Pericard is hoped to the be the man that can offer support to talented youngster Charlie Austin and Robinson is more than aware of the threat offered by the former Juventus front-man.

Pericard scored twice for Carlisle in a 4-3 win for the Cumbrians at stadiummk last season, and Robinson admitted this week that he was on the Dons' radar around the period he joined Swindon.

Much is expected of Vincent Pericard to fill the void left at Swindon by Billy Paynter's departure.

He said: "Swindon lost one of the hottest strikers in the league, but have replaced him with, in Pericard, someone we had a really good look at when Paul (Ince) was here.

"They've brought in David Prutton as well, a player all our fans will remember from that unbelievable strike at Colchester last season, and they're very strong, very disciplined and are under a manager that's got them playing some good football."

After the exertions of Tuesday night's extra-time epic against the Seasiders, the Dons will have to delve deep into their energy reserves against a side that has won on three of its previous four visits to the New City.

But while legs may be a little weary, Robinson is confident that, in terms of quality, his side still have new levels to reach.

He said: "I hope the players can emulate the kind of performance we saw on Tuesday night, but it will be very difficult to apply for the whole ninety minutes. We might have to play deeper for longer spells to conserve our energy, be a bit more organised and play the game in a slightly different way.

"But have a lot of belief in these players and I know they've still got two or three more gears to find."

Tickets for Saturday's game against Swindon at stadiummk are on sale from the MK Dons Online Ticket Service, the MK Dons Box Office at stadiummk and the Dons Box Office at thecentre:mk.