"Exactly what we needed": Hendry delighted as Dons get back to winning ways

MK Dons’ hard-fought victory over Chesterfield on New Year’s Day quickly nipped any chances of a Newport County repeat in the bud at the first time of asking, said Callum Hendry.

The 2-1 win over the Spireites, who had only lost once in the league at home all season, saw Dons bounce back to winning ways after four matches without a victory. Crucially too, in only their second away game in nearly two months, it put to bed any potential signs of another mauling the likes of which they suffered in Wales just before Christmas, where they were thumped 6-3.

Hendry, who bagged the opener at the SMH Group Stadium after 18 minutes before Joe White’s fifth of the season made it 2-0 just before the break, said it was important to bounce back on the road after the loss to the Exiles.

“That was exactly what we needed after the Newport game,” he said. “We had to put that game to bed as quickly as we can, and after playing away here, we have done.

“The games come to thick and fast, you have to put losses behind you. Performances like that today are massive for us. Three points were the main thing, so we have to kick on from here.”

A performance very rare for MK Dons, the win at Chesterfield was gritty, ugly and physical at times - adjectives not often levelled at the side from MK1. Head coach Scott Lindsey praised his side’s spirit after the win, with Hendry saying it as a performance the dressing room needed after picking up just one point from a possible 12 heading into the game in Derbyshire.

He said: “We've needed a performance like that, a test of character. The togetherness we showed at the end there was amazing. The boys who came off the bench were brilliant, ran their socks off, everyone did. It's three points at the end of the day, it's about winning, this sport. We have to build on it, but hopefully we can play a bit prettier next time.

“If we can mix it like that for when we can get it down and play football, it's a perfect recipe. We have to take the character we showed today into other games because those two together are dangerous.”