Mason wants more after his first Dons hat-trick

Joe Mason became the first MK Dons player to score a hat-trick in almost five years on Tuesday night, but he says he wants to contribute more this season.

Injuries have stunted the striker's time at Stadium MK, limiting him to just 33 appearances in 18 months. Having only netted once this season too, Mason admitted he was frustrated by his Dons career to date in an interview earlier this month but after his first half hat-trick guided Dons to a 3-1 win over Fleetwood, he said he wants to continue to bring more to the side.

"It has been a while since my last goal, and they've all come along tonight," he said. "It has given me a lot of confidence going forwards, but to be honest I'm over the moon to help the team out and get the result.

"There are so many people who deserve thanks for what has happened. The medical team have been great, Russ has been patient and I hope I can stay fit and keep helping the team. They have been great for me. It would have been easy for them not to show me any faith after the injuries I've had, and I've not really performed to the levels I'd have liked.

"I'm trying to finish the season strong, and if I'm doing my job, we'll finish higher up the table."

His first of the night came after just four minutes, converting Ethan Laird's cross - a scene they had discussed prior to kick off. Mason explained: "We talked about that scenario before the game and it worked out perfectly. I felt he was brilliant again, he's brought a lot already. I'm glad he could set me up and it could get us going."

The second came after 20 minutes, winning the ball from the Fleetwood defence but after Scott Fraser was unable to get a shot away, Mason was able to convert past an unsighted Joe Hilton. Mason said: "Scotty was blocking me from the keeper's view, so as long as I got it on target, I knew it would have a chance. It wasn't even in the corner but it was good to see it go in.

"I wasn't chasing it, but I was confident if I got another chance I'd take it. It was in my head to get a hat-trick when the second one went in so early."

And the hat-trick was complete on 27 minutes when he pounced on a loose touch from Charlie Mulgrew to fire in his third of the night - the first first-half hat-trick in Dons history.

"Russ works big on pressing from the front and we haven't got many goals from it this season but we got one tonight. That's why we do it!"