Skipper Dean Lewington reckons home wins will be essential for MK Dons in the coming weeks as they approach a make-or-break period in their season.

And he says they must start by banishing the memory of Saturday's heavy defeat at Carlisle by beating Southend at the weekend.

The 5-0 loss at Brunton Park has left Paul Ince's side six points off the play-offs in League 1, and in need of a strong run of results to remain in promotion contention.

After three successive games on the road, the Dons play four of their next five at stadiummk, starting with Saturday's encounter with the Shrimpers, in a run that includes home clashes with play-off rivals Millwall and Swindon.

It's a sequence of games Lewie says is now vital for the Dons, not least to make up for a performance against the Cumbrians the defender described as "embarrassing".

He told mkdons.com: "It was a throwback to the bad old days, it was embarrassing to be out there if we're honest. The second half was just a capitulation and it's not acceptable.

"The fans travel a long way and pay good money to watch us at home and away so we're all disappointed to have put them through that. We went over to applaud their efforts after the game and I was surprised they clapped back - a lot of fans wouldn't. We always want to do well for the fans and it hurts when we don't deliver.

"It'll be nice to be back at home on Saturday after three away games in a row. But we're under no illusions - we have to get a win.

"We'll have a look back at last Saturday's game, see where we could have done better and people will have to hold their hands up to mistakes because they have to be put right."

Due to the current defensive injury crisis, Lewie played in an unfamiliar central defensive role on Saturday, alongside debutant James Tunnicliffe, who joined on loan from Brighton last week.

Lewie said Paul Ince has made it clear that changes will be made if performances don't improve.

 

David McCracken, Mathias Doumbe, Danny Woodards, Sean O'Hanlon and Darren Powell are all specialist centre-halves that have been missing in recent weeks.

But the Dons captain warned absent personnel cannot be used as an excuse for such an inept performance, and that his manager will not hesitate to strengthen the squad in the long term.

He said: "It's not somewhere I'm used to playing, but we've been short on centre halves and the Gaffer thought I could do a job. It would be nice to make excuses and point out who was playing well, but it was more about attitude and the way we worked together.

"The Gaffer told us that it showed a lot of people's character. The boys know he's looking to make decisions come the summer and some people won't be here if we carry on like playing like that."

Tickets for Saturday's game against Southend are on sale from the MK Dons Online Ticket Service, over the phone on 01908 622900, from the MK Dons Box Office at stadiummk and the Box Office on Crown Walk at thecentre:mk.