Confidence breeds success and celebrations for Dons striker Eisa

Mo Eisa and Harry Darling have been sharing celebrations in front of our cameras in the last couple of games. Both have three goals in their last seven matches, and defender Darling says he wants one of those choreographed celebrations to come after one of his goals

Organising celebrations with your team-mates is certainly a sign of confidence in front of goal and at the moment, Mo Eisa has it in abundance.

The striker netted his 10th goal of the season on Saturday in what turned out to be the winner against Rotherham as 10-man MK Dons came from behind to beat the runaway League One leaders in their own back yard.

It was his third goal in as many starts for the 27-year-old who signed from Peterborough in the summer for a club record fee.

Starting brightly for his new side, injury in late August ruled him out for much of the early Liam Manning transition, and he struggled to get regular time on the pitch, watching on as the likes of Scott Twine and Max Watters hit the goals for Dons in the run up to Christmas.

But since the turn of the year, Eisa has been a more regular feature in the side, and his goals of late have fired him to double figures for the season, and have even got him seeking out Harry Darling and our cameras to celebrate in style.

“I'm going to take credit for that!” said Darling. “We've been having a bit of banter in the dressing room about it. We've both come up with celebrations and we've only been doing it in the last couple of games and he's done it both times so I think it's only fair to think of another one. I'll have a word with him!”

It is not just his celebrations that have been impressive though. His goals too have been vital and in difficult conditions - away at Portsmouth, away at Sunderland and away at Rotherham. His goal at home against Bolton was his first at Stadium MK since August.

Not only coming in hostile territory, they have, by and large, been of a similar ilk - fronting up a defender or played in behind, firing across the keeper into the bottom corner.

“We see that finish all the time in training,” Darling continued. “That one on the right-hand side, he's brilliant at it. If we can keep getting him into those positions, we know he's a good enough player to tuck those chances away.”

Mo Eisa celebrates his ninth goal of the season but his first at Stadium MK since August as he opens the scoring against Bolton

Head coach Liam Manning admitted Eisa initially found it tough to adapt to the way he wanted him to play, especially missing so much of the early work after he took over with that injury.

But he insisted Eisa would find his way, and indeed goals in the system, and is currently being proved right.

He said: “Mo came in and had to adapt to our style and that doesn't happen over night. Some players can do it quickly, others need a bit more time and to be fair he was having those same chances early on, but we always said to Mo it would happen and we were right.

“The key is him understanding what he needs to work on, what to improve and develop and it will transfer into the game. Fair play to him for buying into that.”