Graham Alexander saw continued signs of progress from his side in their Carabao Cup tie with Wycombe Wanderers but recognised MK Dons were undone in both boxes by the Sky Bet League One outfit.
Alexander’s men proved more than a match for their Buckinghamshire rivals for large portions of Tuesday’s clash but were beaten 2-0 by two second-half goals from the Chairboys.
“It came down to both boxes in the end,” Alexander said in reflection. “We had the opportunities to score and we were doing reasonably well until they scored, but they were more clinical than us.
“The team we put out was a strong one, although we made a few necessary changes, and I think we played a big part in that game.
“It was disappointing to concede when we did but we still had time to get back into it. Then, we conceded the second. They're both scruffy goals and we had as good, if not better, opportunities through the night.
“We have got to improve on, when we do concede, not conceding again quickly. That has been apparent during pre-season so we have to fix that.”
Alexander continued: “To be fair to the players, they gave it everything right until the end but we don't want to be that unlucky club that doesn't take what we should from games. I felt we did enough to not get beaten.
“Our early ambitions here are to be consistent with our performances and results but our longer-term aim is to be as successful as possible. I want a winning mentality and a competitive environment, with players who will give everything win a game of football.
“I saw my team trying to do that tonight so there are signs we're progressing. It won't always be successful, and there will be bumps and pain along the way, but it would have been easy to go under conceding twice late on but we didn’t.”
One area in which Alexander has marked for improvement relates to conceding goals, with the Dons having been beached five times across their opening two matches.
“We have to do better,” the Head Coach said. “We didn't keep a clean sheet in pre-season and while we scored a lot of goals to win a fantastic game on Saturday. we conceded three there.
“We won't shy away from the fact we have to improve. We want to be an attacking team and score as many as possible but we have to tighten up at the other end of the pitch as well.
“It's something we have to build into the team. We've got the players with the attributes to be really good defensively, but sometimes it's a real determination in your mind to put everything on the line to keep the clean sheet, and it's something we have to address.”
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Graham Alexander's MK Dons return to Stadium MK action on Saturday when they take on Tranmere Rovers in their first home league match of the season. Kick-off is at 3pm.
Tickets are still on sale from the Box Office and online, priced from £24 adults, £18 over-65s and under-25s, £6 under-21s and £3 under-14s if bought in advance of matchday, while under-7s can watch from as little as £1.
To book tickets CLICK HERE, visit the Box Office at Stadium MK or call 01908 622933. Tickets will be available to buy right up until kick-off from the Box Office, though prices will increase by £2 on the day of the game.
