Martin tries to balance short-term with the long-term at MK Dons

Now the moving and the shaking of the transfer window is closed, Russell Martin has everything he can get to keep Dons in the League One. Nine points clear of the relegation zone after Saturday's win over Wycombe Wanderers, things appear to be going in the right direction for the club of late.

But 19th place in the table still makes for uncomfortable reading and the line from the dressing room is still very much united in trying to get away from the drop zone, rather than looking further up the table. The table is deceptive though, with Dons actually closer to 12th place than they are to 21st.

Having recruited Carlton Morris, Ben Gladwin, Louis Thompson and Andrew Fisher during the window, Martin said he was pleased with his January signings. However with all four on deals until the end of the season, January was always going to be about the short term.

Martin though has a second objective, and that is a much longer-term plan for the club.

"When the chairman gave me the job, we spoke about it being a long term thing, which is what we both wanted," he said. "The fans are starting to enjoy it too. There has to be a long-term goal at the end of it all. It's about creating a team that gets better all the time, with a culture that demands that.

"The transfer window was interesting. I'm pleased with the business we did. It was a bit of an anticlimax on deadline day.

"I'm glad it's over, there were a lot of phonecalls and a lot of time spent. We lost out on a few, but it was up and down. It changed a lot, I've learned a lot from it. Now I start looking towards the summer window and beyond this season.

"Our short term goal was to stay in the league, no doubt about it, but we have long term visions for this club. Hopefully, we'll make sure we do our job this year and next season is promising."