Ill-discipline and suspensions have cost MK Dons dearly - Jackson

Losing both Jonathan Leko and Zak Jules to suspension forced Mark Jackson to sit down with his players to outline the demands he expects from his side.

The pair were handed three-match bans for violent conduct - incidents which were not spotted by referees at the time, but were subsequently found as a result of video evidence.

With Dons’ defensive injury crisis already leaving them at barebones, Jules’ suspension means Jackson has just one fit centre-back in the form of Jack Tucker, while Dean Lewington edges closer to a return after hamstring surgery in December.

But with two key men out of the side for the next few games - Jules missing the next three and Leko two - Jackson said he has had to hammer home the disciplinary standards he expects.

“We've had two instances of ill-discipline and it's cost us, let's not shy away from it,” he said. “They know my feelings on it, we've spoken about it as a group and we're paying the price for the two bits of ill-discipline where we lacked control.

“We have to have focus, drive and aggression but we have to control our aggression on the pitch and not retaliate.

“We've lost two influential players and we have to deal with that. We can't change it now, but we've got to find solutions to it now.”

Defender Tennai Watson added: “Discipline is extremely important, especailly in a period like this. Not just in what we've seen, but in the way we're playing and what we're doing.”