While pleased the side’s run of defeats is at an end, MK Dons boss Dan Micciche knows the goalless draw with Rochdale will only be a ‘great point’ if they can follow it up with a result at Fleetwood Town this weekend.
Micciche’s men picked up their first Sky Bet League One point in six games on Wednesday evening – a result which stopped the rot and close the gap on 20th-placed Fleetwood to five points ahead of their meeting with the Cod Army this weekend in Lancashire.
“It’s definitely something to build on,” Micciche said in his interview with iFollow MK Dons. “It’s a good point and if we win on Saturday, it’s a great point.
“We’re spending three days up here and we’re shutting the doors. Our focus for the next 72 hours is purely on winning on Saturday.”
On the game, the Dons boss said: “It was coming – us getting something out of game.
“We’ve looked solid defensively – that’s the third away game since I’ve been here and we’ve only conceded two goals, one from a set-piece.
“The first 20 minutes were always going to be testing because their confidence was high and that was probably the one time in the game where they got inside our backline. Other than that, I felt really comfortable in the game – we looked solid.
“We had the best bit of play in the first half with [Ike Ugbo’s] back-heel and we got in – there were a few other times as well. We have to pay teams respect – away from home, on a Wednesday night, up north you are not going to get seven or eight clear cut chances. We’ve had enough chances to win the game, though, but we didn’t take them.”
Here is what else Micciche had to say in his post-match interviews...
On the support from the fans...
“They are absolutely fantastic. Our motivation levels should be even higher given how loyal our supporters have been. They have been nothing but supportive.”
On hoping to get some injured players back for Saturday...
“Some of the injured lads are meeting us on Thursday morning. They are going to be training with us on Thursday and Friday – we’ll see how they are and make a decision. Getting them back will only add to our attacking threats. We're all desperate to see Chuks [Aneke] back but I'm not going to rush him. We need him, Osman [Sow] and Peter [Pawlett], and we hope to have Tav [Marcus Tavernier] back soon too.”
On strengthening the midfield...
“It's an area we are trying to strengthen because we're short in that area. We had Nigel Reo-Coker in training with us yesterday – I'm trying to look at that free market.”
On Callum Brittain playing in midfield...
“I thought Callum Brittain did well in there when he came on. I've always known Callum as a midfield player so I had no qualms about putting him in midfield tonight. He needs to know I'm not going to see him just as a right back – we need players to be versatile when we've got so many out.”
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MK Dons travel to Fleetwood Town on Saturday for a crunch Sky Bet League One clash at Highbury Stadium.
Tickets are now ONLY available from Highbury Stadium and can be purchased from £22 adults, £17 seniors, £10 students/under-18s and £5 under-16s while under-5s go FREE. There is a £2 price increase for tickets in the seated section.
