Russell Martin says he was left feeling sick on Saturday, after another dominant performance from his side went unrewarded.
Martin’s MK Dons enjoyed 71 percent possession over Portsmouth in their meeting at Fratton Park, while out shot their hosts 19 to 4.
It was Pompey, though, who came out on top courtesy of a second-minute header and a controversial penalty and that Martin bordering on emotional at the full-time whistle.
“I feel sick,” the Dons boss said in his post-match press conference. “We have to be honest –it’s not good enough and I'm emotional about it.
“I'm fed up with being angry and I'm really hurt by us keep losing. Teams are working harder to stop us but we're putting ourselves into a position we fought so hard to get out of last season.
“We had 19 shots away from home, eight in the box and numerous on target. We give away two shots on target and concede two.
“We cannot do much more away from home. I'd be surprised if anyone else comes to Portsmouth and has that much dominance.
“I expect us to dominate games, though, and I expect to create chances, but if we don't defend our box, it means nothing.
“Both boxes are letting us down. We cannot defend key actions in our box and, for as much as we created, we haven't got that killer instinct.
“That comes down to mentality, desire and intensity. We have to be more ruthless in their box, and more aggressive and resilient in the other box.”
He added: “They are letting themselves down. I don't know how much more they can do to try and win a game, but we do have to stop giving teams a head-start. They're putting themselves under pressure that does not need to be there.”
Reflecting on the two goals, Martin commented: “[For the first goal] we had the ball in secure possession in the middle of the pitch. It's a simple pass to make and somehow we lose the ball. We don't recover and they have a free man to head in the box from the corner.
“Without being critical of the referee, that happens at every corner so if you give that, you give 10 a game. I might get told off for that but that's how I feel. That said, they shouldn't have had a corner from the situation we were in. That's more disappointing.”
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Russell Martin's MK Dons will look to bounce back this weekend when they take on Gillingham at Stadium MK.
Supporters can watch Saturday's match LIVE on iFollow MK Dons, with Season Ticket holders to be provided FREE access - click HERE for further details.
Non-Season Ticket holders can still enjoy the action by purchasing a Video Match Pass - click HERE to sign up ahead of Saturday!
