Coventry clash a chance for players to stake a claim for a Dons shirt

Russell Martin will be without five defenders for the opening game of the season against Coventry City tomorrow.

George Williams, Regan Poole, Daniel Harvie, Warren O'Hora and Richard Keogh are all unavailable through a mixture of injury and international duties, leaving Dons' already thin squad looking considerably underweight ahead of the visit of the Championship side.

With a week to go before the League One season gets underway, Martin said the bench will be filled with academy products and that everyone playing will have the chance of staking a claim for a start away at Doncaster.

He said: "People are fighting for shirts now, and it's up to those players who get the shirts tomorrow to keep them for the next game. We're going out there to win the game tomorrow, we want to put in a positive performance.

"It will be tough, we're going into it without Regan Poole and Danny Harvie, we've got a few injuries too. It will be an extremely young squad, the bench will look different to how it usually looks, with as many academy players as we've ever had. It won't be the squad or team who will line-up against Doncaster."

Dons took on Coventry in pre-season, losing 3-2 at Stadium MK but there is little to tell between the sides down the years. In 12 meetings, each side has four wins, with four draws - two of which were last season's league games. But Mark Robins' side claimed the League One title and with it promotion to the second tier, and Martin feels they will provide Dons a stern test.

"They're a really good team, the best in the league last season," Martin continued. "They're a team we've had some really good games against too.

"Some people are treating it as their last pre-season game because they don't feel they're ready, but not us. For us, it's a chance for players to stake a claim. We're in a good place physically.

"Having cup games allows us to give everyone minutes in a competitive match, but we're approaching them as we would any other game."