Daniel Harvie feels he needed to repay Russell Martin's faith having been handed a start in Saturday’s win over Doncaster Rovers.
Harvie was impressive throughout, with his tireless work down the left being rewarded as his second-half goal secured all three points for MK Dons.
The Scot has been named a substitute in recent weeks, but was handed a starting berth down the left.
“I needed a big performance today,” Harvie told iFollow MK Dons. “I've been out of the team for a few games and I had to show that I should be in there. I felt before the game that I needed a big performance to show the gaffer I should be in the team for the next game and I'm pleased with that – it was a good day.
“It was a great performance from the boys. Four wins in a row is crucial for us to kick on and get higher up the table, so it was a good afternoon's work.”
Rewind to September 2020 as MK Dons travelled to the Keepmoat Stadium to start their Sky Bet League One campaign. Of the team that started the 1-1 draw, only two started the reverse fixture this weekend.
Four of those starting in Yorkshire are no longer with the club, while Russell Martin named Academy duo Tali Jallow and Malaki Black on the bench.
Harvie feels the Dons have come a long way since taking a point on the opening day of the season and praised the whole team for their effort in keeping the Dons first clean sheet since February’s win over Hull City.
“If you look at the first game back and watched us today, you'd see we're a completely different team. We've worked hard over the season to make us better, play well and hurt teams. It’s good that we’ve defended well and kept the clean sheet as it was crucial we done so.
“Some of the goals we've concede we've been pretty annoyed about. The last 10 minutes of the Burton game was really good and we took that into today. We press from the front, so it's not just about the defenders in a clean sheet – it’s the whole team. The strikers all have to work so hard so it’s good for everyone.
“We had a tough spell but we've bounced back and we've got the squad to do that, we've got big-game players in the team. We have to stick to how we want to play and what we do, we know for a fact it will work and today proves it.”
