Hours on the road will be no excuse if Dons can't pick up points

Paul Tisdale and Matt Oakley are used to long journeys after their Exeter City days

Saturday's trip to Sincil Bank, home of Lincoln City, will cover 220 miles, while Huish Park on Tuesday night for the trip to Yeovil will see Dons rack up another 302.

For supporters, piling on the miles will be a big ask, but Tisdale, who spent 12 years at Exeter City, says the longer trips are manageable compared to when he was at his former club.

"It's part of the job, it's really not an issue," he said. "Coming from a team that has played right out on a limb, as we used to in the last few years, the distances we have to travel from here at MK Dons are not as bad as it might seem!

"It's not relevant, it won't be an excuse. I expect and hope for us to get as many points away as we get home. The supporters have really travelled well, and I'm really grateful for what they've given us. Yeovil is a long way on Tuesday night but there has been no shortage of support and encouragement for us."

Dons have thrown away leads in their last three games to end up with draws at full time - their 3-3 draw with Peterborough ended with a penalty shoot-out win in the Checkatrade Trophy - and Tisdale is eager to buck the trend and get back to winning ways after nearly a month without one.

He said: "We want to win more games than we draw but it's about making the performance better. We've learned a lot in the first six or seven games, we've been very competent but we need to up certain parts of our game to do that. We've got some ideas, it's still early days but we're learning very quickly. I know how I want us to play, we're not there yet, but we are philosophical. We've made good progress so far.

"In the last two games, we've been leading. Swindon was tough to take but Forest Green thoroughly deserved their draw, there's no doubt. We're picking up points, but it's the performances we need to improve on. The indicator against Forest Green was that we want to play better.

"Our frame of mind was much better in the draw with Grimsby, because we played with more intent and freedom. On Saturday, it was just one of those games. I want people to enjoy watching us. We want to play with a bit more gusto."