Dons have to use their latest milestone to build for the season

The curse is over - that away win is in the bag and we can all finally move on with our lives. But what next for MK Dons?

The relentless spell of games - nine in 28 days - recently has thrown up a bit of everything for Russell Martin, his players and the supporters of the club. Starting with the high of the club's first league win of the season at home to Gillingham, it spiralled with two disappointing results away at Oxford and Blackpool, undoing any good work the win seven days prior had done as they slumped to the bottom of League One.

A midweek win over Wigan put them back on the right path, but despite picking up points against AFC Wimbledon and Northampton, the misfiring front-line was beginning to be a cause for concern. That same frontline would then squander 14 changes as they went to penalties against non-league Eastleigh, before losing to Southampton U21s in the Papa John's Trophy last Wednesday.

Saturday's win over Sunderland though would round-out the period on a high, with their now four-game unbeaten league run seeing them climb to 14th.

With players like Richard Keogh, Scott Fraser and Cameron Jerome proving instrumental, Martin's first choice team is beginning to pick itself and while international duty hampered him at the weekend, it is likely that bringing back Regan Poole and Daniel Harvie for this Saturday's visit of Hull are the final pieces of his jigsaw.

What everyone really wants next is some consistency, and that stems right from the top. Martin has not shyed away from admitting he has not been able to field his strongest side consistently this season, and with the congestion easing a little in the next few weeks he might be able to put out his idea of his best side on a more regular basis.

While home form has been decent - one defeat in the league all season at Stadium MK - it is still away form which will see Dons transition from a lower-midtable side to an upper-midtable side. One win away from home might end the streak at 21 games, but no-one wants to wait another 14 months for another to come along. The nature of the performance away at Sunderland highlighted a different area of the game for Dons though, one which has not been seen at all this season - how they perform under the kosh.

Ben Gladwin said their backs-to-the-wall display in the second half at the Stadium of Light went a way to showing Dons aren't soft. Defensively, they have been exposed at times this season, notably conceding goals to teams who have just one or two attacks or shots on goal. During this run though, they have firmed up at the back. The aforementioned Keogh and Dean Lewington look as stern and tough to beat as ever, while Warren O'Hora has been something of a surprise package since replacing George Williams, slotting in seamlessly next to the experienced duo.

The introduction of Andrew Fisher too raised more than a few eyebrows when he stepped in ahead of Lee Nicholls in goal, but has not looked out of place and was man of the match against Sunderland as he kept the Black Cats out with both hands and feet.

Matthew Sorinola is causing Martin more headaches with ever-increasingly impressive performances on both flanks, Jordan Houghton is being kept out the side by David Kasumu, and Ste Walker continues to make an impact with his creativity around the penalty area. The strength in depth is starting to show.

Consistency though is key. Picking up points, not necessarily always wins, but regular points will ease any fears this teams has of slipping into the bottom four again. After a shift in focus over pre-season, they appear to have found a similar formula which they had found before last season was curtailed. There are not as many defensive frailties, or silly errors which go haunt them come 5pm on a Saturday.

Eight points from a possible 12 is a foundation on which they can now build, and 14th is a decent base at which to begin that building work.