Lack of chances has been source of frustration for Dons striker Hogan

Chances have been few and far between for Scott Hogan during MK Dons’ recent slump, and it is something the striker has found hard to come to terms with.

The 32-year-old has only had two clear-cut opportunities during his last three outings - one he scored against Walsall and the other he saw blocked against Fleetwood Town a couple of days later in an almost carbon copy of the previous.

With so much creativity in the side, Hogan, who has four goals to his name since signing in October, believes it will only take time for the chances to start coming more regularly for him again, especially with the new signings giving Scott Lindsey’s side a more solid feel.

He said: “I'm the first to say that as a striker, I've found it frustrating at times, and I've spoken to the manager who has tried to reassure me that, once he gets the players in that he wants, things will look a lot different.

“It has been difficult because we haven't really got anything, but we've got a lot of creative players in, and it's about turning it into something now, and getting chances.

“We've got to play a bit closer up the pitch, not running as much. We're covering big distances quite a lot, and we have to shorten that link, sliding people in.

“We've got to get the new lads settled, and be a bit more brave, and accept we might not always get it right, but the more we press, the more it will come off and become natural to us.”

After a run of three defeats in a row, Saturday’s 0-0 draw with rivals AFC Wimbledon was the best Lindsey has seen his side since he took over, and even though there were no real chances at either end, Hogan believes if Dons can replicate that performance again, they will be a hard proposition to face in the second-half of the season.

“Now we look like what the manager wants,” Hogan continued. “Hopefully we can move on from there and kick on now. It has not been great, but you can see what he wants, what he's trying to do. He's got players in now that he wanted.

“It felt like what we want it to be like, and that's how he wants this team to be. That's a fair reflection on Saturday, but we have to tighten up around their box and be more creative. The basics though are what he was looking for, and I think you'll see that moving forwards now.

“Saturday was good for us all, we looked solid again, and had a togetherness in the side too. I think if we continue that, we'll win games because we are getting better.

“If we fall below that standard, it's on us as players. We've set it ourselves and we have to live up to it. Whilst we're a good footballing team, we've not created a lot of late, so there's more to come there. But we ran, tackled, headed and defended well.

“If we play like we did on Saturday and add the creativity, I'm confident we can blow teams out of the water between now and the end of the season.”