Important to win not just for Jackson says Dons’ scorer Harvie

Daniel Harvie said winning for new boss Mark Jackson was just as important as getting a win in general as MK Dons closed the gap to a single point between themselves and the safety zone in League One on Boxing Day.

Harvie’s 58th minute strike was enough to secure three points against Forest Green Rovers on Monday in Jackson’s first game in charge, and with it their first back-to-back league wins of the season.

While Dons remain in the bottom four, wins over Portsmouth and Forest Green have seen them back within touching distance of safety approaching the New Year, and though emotions were running high with Jackson’s first win as a head coach, Harvie said it was just as important to win irrespective.

“It's nice to win for the new gaffer but we want to win every game. We want to take points off everyone, whether they're close to us or at the top of the table, we want to win every game in our style. Obviously though, it's an important three points.

“Winning back-to-back in the league and two clean sheets too, it's positive but there are always things we can get better at.

“(Clean sheets) help massively, and shows the hard work we've been doing on the training pitch. We have been letting in sloppy goals recently, and we weren't defending at our bests. But keeping clean sheets is certainly something we can get better at.

“It was a good performance, we were aggressive off the ball and we dealt with their long balls and directness. There are always bits you can improve on but it's a massive three points.”