Facing Mansfield will be the biggest game of the season

This Saturday’s game against automatic promotion rivals Mansfield Town will be MK Dons’ biggest game of the season, according to Mike Williamson.

With the two sides vying for a top three spot in League Two, Dons need a victory over the Stags to climb above them, though Nigel Clough’s side will still have a game in hand and could go back ahead with just three games to go.

So much rides on the result for both sides, and with it being so finely poised, Williamson said the game will be monumental for both.

“As always, we look at the next game, it's the biggest one,” he said. “It carries extra weight, I say it every game, but because of the spectacle, what's at stake and the limited games left, it adds an extra tension and excitement.

“It'll be a good crowd, I'm looking forward to the atmosphere but we have to get the lads happy, focussed and control the controllable.

“There are other big clashes this season to come, which is good for the neutral, but not so easy for the people invested! This is why we live and breath football. I've had so many highs and lows in the game, so I'm purely focussed on the excitement.”

The sides crossed paths a little over a month ago at Field Mill, a game which saw Dons come from behind to beat 2-1 to kick-start their automatic hopes again.

“It was a real battle all the way through,” Williamson continued. “It could have gone a different way, and we changed that momentum. We know we'll have to suffer and go through periods of last-ditch defending, or relying on the woodwork.

“We have to focus on how we can hurt them, and how we can nullify their threats. Mansfield have so many of them, and so much experience so we know we'll have to suffer.

It was a fantastic game and we came away with it with a really good feeling. Sometimes though, when you're beaten by an opponent and you face them again, it creates more emphasis on what you need to achieve.

“It was a great game (at Field Mill) and we hope for a similar one on Saturday.”