Jackson wants Dons to make winning a habit after back-to-back triumphs

After picking up back-to-back victories to lift MK Dons out of the relegation zone, Mark Jackson wants his side to get into a winning mentality.

Sullay Kaikai’s second goal since joining the club from Wycombe Wanderers in January ensured Dons climbed out of the League One relegation zone as they leapfrogged Accrington Stanley at the Wham Stadium - the 1-0 win backing up their win over Cambridge United a week ago by the same scoreline.

And with another of the relegation candidates Morecambe coming up next at Stadium MK, Dons could further improve their chances of beating the drop should they pick up a third straight win.

“Losing can become a habit, and winning can as well so we have to grab hold of that winning mentality,” said Jackson after the win over Accrington. “Football is played in the head, and psychological elements of the game are massive.

“We've had to deal with a lot of testing moments over the last few weeks, and we've come through that. But we've got to keep pushing.

“It seems to have been a long time since Port Vale (two weeks ago), and we have addressed a lot of things since then. We were really proactive with what we wanted to do as a group, and we've managed to pick up two wins on the spin which is fantastic.

“It's something we have to build on, but it's only a little stepping stone and nowhere near job done. We have to be focussed to keep this run going.”

‘A difficult place to come’

It was almost 15 years since Dons’ last win at the Wham Stadium, albeit only the fourth time they’ve played there since 2008, but they have struggled in previous encounters.

But after Kaikai’s eighth minute strike, Dons managed the game effectively, limiting the hosts to just one shot on target - a Tommy Leigh effort from range which Jamie Cumming tipped around his post.

Keeping their second clean sheet in a row too, Jackson was delighted with the way his side saw out the game despite coming under pressure from Accrington shelling late on.

He said: “It's such a difficult place to come, they put you under a lot of pressure and we knew we had to be strong in certain areas, and we were. We asked them to be brave, and to control possession when they could.

“It took a lot of courage and we did that today. And when we were defending, we had to be strong and disciplined and did that.

“We could have made it more comfortable for us in the second-half, but we had to stand strong.”