Belief not relief for Dons after Cheltenham draw

Having picked up four points in four days, MK Dons boss Liam Manning says his side are beginning to believe they are a good side again.

Dons came into the week off the back of a fifth consecutive League One defeat, going down 1-0 to Wycombe Wanderers last Saturday, slumping to the bottom of the table in the process.

But a week later, Manning cut a different figure, with a win over Charlton Athletic backed up with a lively albeit goal-less draw with Cheltenham Town at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.

With back-to-back cup games coming up, against Taunton Town in the FA Cup and then Morecambe in the Carabao Cup, Manning said his side are starting to believe they can turn things around again.

“It's not relief, but belief,” he said. “We know we're a good team, we can dominate games, create chances, be hard to beat and not give up chances easily.

“It has never been a case of attitude, but we've brought together all the elements, and that has been the challenge. You have to do everything well, and for the first chunk of games we didn't do that. We've done a much better job of it recently, and we still have a long way to go.

“That's why this next week will be welcomed in terms of the work we can do.”

Better of the chances

While the game ended goal-less in Gloucestershire, it was the visitors who had the better of the opportunities in front of goal, with Will Grigg, Bradley Johnson, Mo Eisa and Zak Jules all making keeper Luke Southwood work for his afternoon, while Jamie Cumming made a terrific stop to deny James Olayinka.

On the game, Manning said: “I think in terms of the quality of chances, we shaded it. Their biggest threats came from set-pieces, whereas in open play, we got into some really dangerous areas. We just couldn't get the ball over the line.

“But in the bigger picture, looking at the performance, it was another step in the right direction.

“Momentum and the performance is such a big part of our identity, and we did a good job of pinning them back, we moved the ball well, we were a bit passive at times, but we kept it well and I don't think I could have said that a few weeks ago.

“We've had a solid week, performing to a good level and ultimately come away with two clean sheets and four points.”