Russell Martin has called on MK Dons to improve their mentality away from home if they are to turn around their form on the road.
The Dons were beaten 3-2 by Oxford United on Tuesday night, falling behind just four minutes into the match at the Kassam Stadium before conceding twice in the second half after pulling themselves level.
“There is something wrong with our mentality, especially away from Stadium MK,” Martin said in his post-match press conference. “We need to make sure we sort that out.
“We are a team who everyone will want to beat because of how we play and teams will work hard to stop us. Still, we have to work out a way to win, whoever we play.
“We have to show up, be us and stop conceding stupid goals.”
On the defeat itself, Martin reflected: “We started terribly, again. Dealing with crosses is something we've worked on recently but we didn't deal with it, which is nonsense.
“We got back into it and looked the better team in the first half. There was one team trying to win it and one team trying to stop the other.
“They've done nothing to hurt us to score goals, but we’ve given them such a soft second goal and it changed the course of the game. We’ve given them a goal from a set piece, a free header in the six-yard box, and that gave them something to hold on to.
“We let them disrupt us after that and they slowed the game down as often as they could. I get why they did it, they needed a win, but we can’t let that happen.
“After their third goal, we decided to play again and we found our rhythm but by then it was too late. Ultimately, if you concede three away from home you're not going to win games.”
One positive for Martin was a second goal in as many games for striker Cameron Jerome, who is beginning to show what he can provide in the attacking third for the Dons this season.
“He was a real threat,” the boss commented. “He was in the right place at the right time for his goal.
“I don’t know why people don't see him as a natural goal-scorer. He has scored a lot of goals in the league above and he will continue score goals for us.”
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Russell Martin's MK Dons will look to bounce back when they take on Blackpool this weekend at Bloomfield Road.
You can watch Saturday's clash with the Tangerines LIVE on iFollow MK Dons for just £10 - click HERE to purchase a Video Match Pass!
