Barton warns of ‘wounded animal’ MK Dons keen for a win

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has warned against a ‘wounded animal’ MK Dons side ahead of the match between the sides at Stadium MK tonight.

Newly promoted Rovers have stuttered on their return to League One, but find themselves ahead of Liam Manning’s side so far.

Barton, who guided the Gas to promotion last term, saw his side pick up their first league win since August on Saturday when they beat Cambridge United at the Memorial Ground lifting them out of the relegation zone.

Looking for only their second ever win in Milton Keynes, coming in Dons’ 500th game in the city, the Rovers boss has warned Dons’ lethargic start to the season is bound to come to an end at some point.

“We’ve got to go there and be solid,” he said. “They will be a wounded animal having lost a game, the manager will be looking for a response. They’ll be in their own stadium and we’ll go there full of confidence after a win hunting down maximum points.

“They’re at the wrong end of the table for them. They lost Scott Twine to Burnley and two other players who naturally would get picked off you if you do really well in League One and don’t manage to convert that into a promotion to the Championship.

“They will be desperate to kick start their season, they’re at home, they’ll be aware of the perilless position in and around the drop zone.

“They’ll see us an opportunity to kick start their season. We’ve got to make sure we carry the momentum from the previous week and start to build a really good run and push the club where we want to be in the table.

“I think they have got their way of playing and it’s been successful for them over the time that Liam has been in there. Obviously this season they’ve got some reasoning, losing Twine who’s a talisman.

“Similar to us you lose your creative force and we know just too well how that can disrupt the team and the harmony in the group.”