Paul Tisdale felt Saturday’s defeat to Exeter City was nothing less than his side deserved, following a poor display in Devon.
MK Dons were beaten 3-1 by the Grecians at St James Park on a day where they were second best for most of the afternoon.
After falling behind to early finishes, Tisdale's side forced themselves back into the contest courtesy of a 48th-minute header but a defensive mistake allowed the hosts to restore their two-goal lead - one which retained for the remainder of the contest.
“It was a poor day,” the Dons manager said in his post-match press conference.
“That first 20 minutes – to say it was poor would be an understatement. It's not like we didn't speak about or go through what was coming. We have to get a lot more streetwise.
“We did something about our ineptitude in that first half at half-time, and for the first time in a while we looked like we had a bit about us to get back into the game. That capitulated with a dreadful error for their third goal.”
He continued: “I have a lot of trust in my players but they will have to learn quickly.
“We've had clues away at Stevenage, away at Grimsby [Town]. To get out of League Two, we have to win League Two football matches, especially away from home. They had a lesson today about League Two football matches, against a team who knew what they were doing.”
Two positives for Tisdale were his Deadline Day signings Jake Hesketh and Stephen Walker, who looked bright in their MK Dons debuts.
“Jake came on when we were on top and created things,” said Tis. “Stephen came on at the end and looked likely.”
