Defender Jules gives honest reflection on Dons’ defeat to Bolton

Some home truths and honest conversations need to be had in the MK Dons dressing room to address their latest slump, said defender Zak Jules after the 2-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers.

Suffering their third defeat in a row, one which sees Liam Manning’s side drop to 22nd in League One, was compounded by the fact Bolton barely had to work for their goals either - scoring first from the penalty spot when Dawson Devoy fouled Gethin Jones to allow Dion Charles to convert, before Jones then headed in Jack Iredale’s free-kick on the hour mark. The last six goals Dons have conceded have come from set-pieces.

While it is still early in the season, with 38 games still to be played, Jules, who stepped into the side ahead of captain Dean Lewington, said there needs to be some soul-searching and honest conversations had to come up with a solution sooner rather than later.

He said: “We can't just let games pass us by and take part for the sake of taking part or we'll find ourselves in a tricky situation.

“I feel like we have to go back on the training pitch, put in the hard work and take a hard look at ourselves. We can't sugar-coat things - it's easy to pass the blame.

“When you go out on the pitch, if all 11 players do what they're meant to, chances are you win. We need to look at that and hopefully improve for the next game.”

On the game, he continued: “It was a really tough one to take. It's where we seem to be at at the moment. I feel like we showed glimpses of quality and good play, but we let conceding goals affect us too much at the moment.

“We can't keep letting that happen - you can't have the perfect game, things won't always go your way. You have to grind results out in this league and we're showing a softness at the moment. But it's up to us to turn it around.

“When you come up against a team who cuts you open, you can think 'fair enough' but to concede from a penalty and then a set-piece again, it's more frustrating.

“It's the basics to defend set-pieces and you have the basis to go on and win. If we get that right, at least you walk away with a clean sheet and a draw. Then we can start looking at the other part of it.

“But it wasn't good enough in that sense.”