Goals will come Manning insists after Dons draw blank twice

MK Dons supporters are still waiting to celebrate their side’s first goal of the season, but Liam Manning insists he is not concerned about drawing two blanks in the opening two matches.

Dons were beaten 1-0 in each of the games against Cambridge United and Sheffield Wednesday so far, but despite coming close, are yet to open their scoring accounts.

Dan Kemp, Matt Smith, Matt Dennis, Louie Barry and Dean Lewington have all forced the issue, albeit most of them against Sheffield Wednesday.

Dons find themselves now though with something of a shortage up front though. Mo Eisa’s injury looks set to keep him out until around November, while Will Grigg limped out against the Owls on Saturday with what looked like a hamstring problem. Villa loanee Barry can play through the middle, and Dennis looked a handful when he replaced Grigg at Stadium MK.

Though they are still seeking that first goal though, Manning says it is not yet a monkey on their backs.

“I don't want to overthink it or put too much pressure on the lads,” he said. “If they work like they worked (against Sheffield Wednesday), trust in each other and trust what we're doing, the goals will come.

“There's a fine line to it, and I think we could have committed a few more bodies into the box as time went on (against Wednesday). It's not about changing it to smash things long - if we thought that would work, we'd have done it from the start!

“It's about committing more bodies, landing on second phases or running beyond.”