MK Dons return to action this evening when they take on Blue Square North outfit Brackley Town at St. James’ Park.
Karl Robinson’s side, fresh from their double-header against Newport Pagnell Town and Leighton Town on Saturday, will visit the home of the non-League Saints for their sixth friendly in just eight days. The Dons are unbeaten so far this summer having won four and drawn one of the five games played so far.
And with the men from MK1 now just two weeks away from their League opener against Shrewsbury Town on August 3rd, Robinson told MK Dons Player that he’ll be using these next few games to work out his strongest starting XI and trial new ideas.
Speaking ahead of the match, he said: “We’re getting closer to our strongest team. I’ll be looking for some positional stuff and set-pieces will now be a integrated into the games a bit more.
“We’ll also be looking at different patterns of play. They’ll be a big focus this year on what we do without the ball; how high we win the ball back, how high we press and the energy levels in the group. We now have more younger players in the group so the energy levels will be higher than what they were last year.
“We’re going to be a little bit more calculated and careful heading into the game, it won’t just be a case of picking a team and going to play. They’ll be more tactical stuff in training and hopefully that’ll see for a better game.”
The Dons are expected to field a strong side, with all available first team players set to make the trip to Oxfordshire.
Robinson, though, will have to monitor the conditions of duo Patrick Bamford and David Martin, both of whom picked up knocks last week. Bamford (ankle) and Martin (thigh) could join winger Dean Bowditch (groin) in missing out tonight.
Brackley Town, who missed out on promotion to the Blue Square Premier in 2012/13 via the play-offs, have yet to play a game so far this pre-season although the Saints will be looking to get off to a perfect start as they try and go one step further next year.
Tickets for this game will be available on the gate at St. James’ Park for the following prices:
Adults: £5
Concessions: £3
Under-16s: Free
Tickets are cash only and are only available to buy on the night at Brackley Town.
Brackley Town address: St James Park, Churchill Way, Brackley, Northants, NN13 7EJ
- with a full match report available to view on mkdons.com following the final whistle.@MKDonsFCMK Dons will provide live updates from the game via the Club’s official Twitter page -
