Burton clash is a ‘must win’ game for Dons

Liam Manning admitted tomorrow’s game with fellow League One strugglers Burton Albion is a ‘must-win’ for MK Dons.

Both sides are cut adrift, six points from safety in the bottom four, level on points heading into the clash at Stadium MK on Saturday. While a win would not lift either out of the relegation zone, it could halve the gap ahead of the busy festive schedule.

Burton come to Milton Keynes off the back of a five-game unbeaten run, and into the FA Cup third round, while Dons suffered back-to-back defeats and exited the cup last week to Portsmouth.

While still not yet at the half-way stage in the league though, Manning said he was aware of the importance of tomorrow’s game for his side.

“Every game at the moment we have to win because we need the points,” he said. “Looking at the table, we need points and so do Burton.

“We know we need to win, but we can't take our eyes off what we need to do to win. We need to win, but more importantly we need to know what to do to win.”

Speaking ahead of the game, Brewers boss Dino Maamria said he felt Dons were out of position at the moment, but admitted he too felt his Burton side are now starting to put in the performances which they lacked at the start of the season.

And Manning too felt Burton have started to pick up in recent weeks, and warns of a tough afternoon.

“They've really picked up under Dino, the performances, the results, organisation,” he added. “It's a really difficult game with their threats and the quality they have in their side.

“It's two teams who are obviously not where they wanted to be, but we are where we are. We've got to step up and change where we're at. It's a tough game.”