Mark Jackson was honest in his assessment of Saturday’s display at Port Vale and knows his team must get a result when they welcome Cambridge United this weekend.
Jackson’s Dons were beaten 1-0 at Vale Park in a game where they were only able to register one shot on target – a Head Coach didn’t hide from in his post-match interview with the media.
“Today wasn't good enough,” Jackson said. “We've not caused them enough problems attacking-wise, and we’ve conceded a sloppy goal from a set-play. The supporters deserve better than that.
“We didn't show anywhere near our potential today, nowhere near it. We have to do that because we're under pressure to get results. We know we have to get results and we have to get them quickly.
“There's a nervousness about where we are and when a team get momentum on us, it takes us a while to get that back, and it knocks the stuffing out of us. We have to find a way of dealing with that.”
Jackson continued: “We've got to fix it and put it right. We'll be doing everything we can to ensure we can turn this around and we achieve our goal by winning games.
“We have to win on Saturday. We're under no illusions - we have to do that on Saturday, there's no hiding from it.
“I'll have to make decisions now to decide who is best equipped to go out onto the pitch and fight in the next game to get three points because that's what we need. We've got to have players who will step up, stand tall and deliver.”
MK Dons were without January recruit Jonathan Leko at Vale Park, as he began a three-game ban for an incident in the 1-1 draw with Lincoln City, which was reviewed by the FA retrospectively.
“We've got to be better disciplined,” Jackson commented. “I've spoken to Jonathan and I've made my thoughts clear on it.
“We've got to be better with our discipline in those situations. No matter what an opponent is doing to us, we have to have self-control.
“He'll be a big miss, and it will hurt us.”
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Mark Jackson's MK Dons will look to bounce back on Saturday when they take on Cambridge United in a hugely-important Sky Bet League One fixture at Stadium MK.
The game has also been designated as Family Fun Day, meaning there will be a host of pre-match activity in the Marshall Arena and discounted tickets across all age groups - CLICK HERE for more information!
Tickests are priced from just £12 adults, £9 over-65s, £6 under-25s, £3 under-18s, £1.50 under-12s and 50p under-7s. 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, though prices will increase by £2 on the day of the game.
