Manager Karl Robinson says the Dons’ pre-season trip to Ireland has provided his side with a strong base to build on at home.
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“To the ones that are in Ireland, hopefully that fan base will continue to grow. My main focus now is to provide them with a team they can be proud of for nine months of the year and that’s the serious side of it.”
Robinson reserved a special mention for the supporters who travelled from the UK and the growing number of Dons fans in Ireland.
He said: “Don’t expect anything magnificent from us at the weekend because we are still 40% off where we will be in the season, but hopefully we’ll see when the campaign starts the benefits of what we’ve done over here.”
The men from MK1 will split into two sides on Saturday as they take on Aylesbury (1pm) and Stony Stratford (5pm).
“It’s gone pretty much perfect. The only downside is Reevesy not playing any football. They all look in good condition, they are all positive and they are all looking forward to coming back and showing you where we are at.”
“We need to take the positives away from the trip. They are at about 55%, 60% at the moment and there’s a lot of hard work still to be done, but I couldn’t have asked for anymore from the players over the past two weeks.
“They’ve all played the right amount of minutes and they are all at the fitness levels we wanted from the trip,” he told MK Dons Player.
Robinson’s men concluded a two-week stay in Portmarnock, which included an intense seven-day training camp and three friendlies, with a 2-1 victory over Irish Premier Division side Bray Wanderers on Wednesday night.
