Alexander admits to training mistakes in lead up to Stockport loss

Graham Alexander said he must take some responsibility for MK Dons’ defeat to Stockport County on Saturday after changing his training plans.

In a performance he blasted as “damp, vanilla, nothing” following the 2-1 defeat to the Hatters at Stadium MK, Dons responded brilliantly with their 1-0 win over Oxford United in the EFL Trophy three days later - a showing the boss has now set as the benchmark going forwards.

But the head coach admitted, while blame also lies at the door of the players on the pitch for their poor showing on Saturday, he too must shoulder a fair portion of it after altering training plans in the week leading up to the game.

“I have to take some responsibility in last week's performance in how we prepared for the game,” he said. “I don't think I got it right. I played my part in it, and I learnt a harsh lesson last Saturday about what our side needs in terms of preparation for games and I won't be making those mistakes again.

“Last week's training, we went off what we normally do. We should have gone back to what we were doing before and we didn't. That's something I needed to learn.

“But that's not to abscond people on the pitch too. We all have to have accountability.”

He made ten changes to his side for the Trophy win over the U’s on Tuesday , Alexander said the performance has set a new level of expectation for the side, and that some players who have featured regularly in the league cannot afford to get complacent when it comes to competing for their spots in the side.

He continued: “That was the closest performance we have had to a complete performance. I don't care who I pick, most of them will understand it but I still think one or two need to get to grips with that. I'm a performance-based manager when it comes to selection. Tuesday was the blueprint.

“We want to take the whole performance from Oxford, in and out of possession. It's exactly what we were looking for, from minute one. The work ethic, the commitment, how we defended and attacked as a team. Everyone was connected and we made it difficult for Oxford.”