Jacko backs Eisa to find scoring form again and explains Dennis loan decision

Dons boss Mark Jackson has backed Mo Eisa to score more goals after he missed three excellent chances to put his side on the scoresheet on Saturday against Exeter City.

After his brace earned MK Dons all three points a week earlier against Forest Green, most expected Eisa to open the scoring on 18 minutes when he was put through on goal by Dawson Devoy only to see his effort bounce wide of the post.

Put in a similar position in the second-half, under more pressure this time from the recovering Grecians defence, the 28-year-old sent his effort high over the bar, while a stoppage time effort he slid wide of the mark after getting on the end of Will Grigg’s nod-down.

Despite those opportunities going begging, and two more on Tuesday in the defeat to Shrewsbury Town at home, Jackson believes he will have no problems lifting Eisa’s confidence ahead of next week’s encounter with Bristol Rovers.

“Mo will score goals,” Jackson said of his striker. “He missed a chance today but he'll bounce back quickly. Mo is a confident lad. I see him in training and he finishes really well, and at Forest Green he scored two fantastic goals.

“Unfortunately, strikers can miss chances and that's a part of the game. It's the psychology of getting over those missed chances and focussing on the next one. And Mo will do that. I've got full confidence in him and the team as an attacking threat.”

Jackson continued: “We have to work on it in training - we've got to work more on repetition in those scenarios, creating more chances and committing more players forwards while still having defensive security.

“That's all you can do, and hopefully that repetition will help build the confidence of the players so on a matchday, they'll start taking those chances.

“The quality we have is high, I see it on the training ground, but we need to translate it into games.”

Explaining Dennis’ loan move

While none of Dons’ attacking threats fired fully on Saturday, striker Matt Dennis’ loan move to Sutton United on Friday left some fans questioning the logic of sending out a player who has six goals to his name this season.

When asked about the move Jackson said: “We've got an array of strikers at the club, and felt Matt would benefit from starting more games, but he wasn't going to be a starter for us. We've got a big squad, and with incomings like Jonathan (Leko) and Sullay (Kaikai), there has to be some give and take.

“We felt that was a good move for Matt, longer-term for him, and we feel we've got enough in the building to score goals.”