Dons aim to stop supply lines to Pompey’s potent 23-goal striker

Keeping Colby Bishop quiet is something MK Dons boss Mark Jackson has been looking at in the run up to Good Friday’s game with Portsmouth, he admitted.

The 26-year-old has 23 goals to his name in his first season at Fratton Park, having moved from Accrington Stanley in the summer.

A player Dons had kept tabs on prior to his move, Bishop scored twice from the spot when the sides met in November in the FA Cup - a game Portsmouth won 3-2 - and with seven goals in his last eight games, is in hot form heading to Stadium MK.

Denying the striker then will be a top priority for Dons as they look to maintain their recent unbeaten run of four matches, and move further away from the relegation zone.

“We're aware of certain players and what their threats are,” said Jackson. “We have to be mindful of any player with that amount of goals.

“I feel like we're in a good place with the players we have available defensively, which helps us deal with a player like that a bit better. We've got experience in that back-line as well now.

“I'd never go into a game and completely change what we do for one player, but there needs to be an awareness that a player could hurt us given the right opportunities. We have to minimise those opportunities for a player like that, set up to stop the feed into him, and I think we have players in defence to snuff out any kind of danger.”

Jackson continued: “We're approaching each game on its own merits, just looking at Portsmouth and seeing how we can go out there and get three points. We know they can be a threat to us, but we can be a threat to them too.

“We've got a lot riding on it at the other end of the table, but it's how the sides cope with pressure. Over the last four weeks, we've shown we're in a good place to deal with the pressure and it's important now we keep that going.”