Dons will focus on performance to get a result at Port Vale

Interim head coach Ben Gladwin wants to see MK Dons take another step forward in their performance on Saturday when they take on Port Vale.

Dons head to Burslem to face a Valiants side sitting sixth in League Two. Darren Moore’s side lost their first league game of the year on Tuesday night when they were beaten 2-1 Colchester United, with an almost even split of wins and draws to see them rise into the play-off spots since the start of 2025.

Gladwin, heading into his third game in charge of the side, feels Dons made improvements in just a short space of time since taking over from sacked Scott Lindsey. With his first week on the training ground with the players, he hopes his side will take another step when they head to Vale Park, but remains realistic about the expectations on his side.

“It would be amazing if we took a humungous leap,” he said. “But I believe in the players and how quickly they can take on information. It's a process. You've seen plenty of teams over the years at this club trying to play this way, and it is a process to get them from one place to another. With time, we will improve.

“Externally, results are so important but I want them to happen in a certain way. Don't get me wrong, I want to go there and win the game, but if we can follow the process of making sure the performance look and feel a certain way consistently, we'll get results. We will work in that manner. We want to stack the odds in our favour, and we'll see where we end up.”

With a focus on getting a performance out of his side to back up their win over Morecambe last weekend, Gladwin said he has warned his players of the threats the opposition will pose, adding: “Port Vale are a really good team, we're well aware of that, but we'll focus on what we want to look like and what we want to do. It will be a brilliant test for us.

“I watched them against Colchester, and I think they were really good. They've got some good threats, and they are really good for this level.

“I've tried to give the players an idea of what they are going to face, but I want to give them as much information about us and how we want to look.

“We'll definitely acknowledge them, the players they have and the success they've had, but we'll make it about us as much as possible.”