Dons aiming to silence Portsmouth fans at Fratton Park

Fratton Park is notoriously boisterous, volatile and noisy but MK Dons hope to silence the crowd when they take on Portsmouth tomorrow.

Danny Cowley’s side sit eighth in League One, three places behind Liam Manning’s men who are seeking their first win at Fratton Park.

Dons have had experience of keeping home supporters quiet this season - namely at Ipswich and Wigan - and Manning said he wants his side to thrive off the atmosphere the Portsmouth fans will create.

“It's a really exciting game for the fans and the players,” he said. “We cannot wait to get going and relish the challenge.

“We’ve learned to deal with that better as the year has gone by. We have to use our fearlessness to our advantage. I think you can thrive off the crowd, even if it’s against you, to prove a point to people. We have to thrive off the energy in the stadium, and we have to do that by dominating the game.

“The guys have done it at similar places - we didn't win but got a result at Ipswich, away at Wigan and in spells against Sheffield Wednesday. We've shown we can go away and do it, and that shows how much potential we have.”

On silencing home fans as the away team, Dons defender Tennai Watson added: “It’s one of the best feelings! When you’ve not got your fans behind you, it’s hard. And it’s definitely satisfying when you know you’ve shut them up a bit!

“(Fratton Park) is a hard place to go, especially with their atmosphere and when the team is a good one. But the key will be looking at what we do, what we’ve achieved so far and there is no reason why they or the atmosphere should faze us.”