Leko’s substitution frustration pleases Dons boss Alexander

Graham Alexander was pleased to see Jonathan Leko’s frustration at being substituted in MK Dons’ win over Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

The forward threw his arms in frustration twice as he left the field with 26 minutes to go at Stadium MK, leading through Mo Eisa’s seventh minute header.

While he had limited joy in the first-half as Dons dominated Rovers, the second-half told a different story, and one which saw both forwards struggle to make a big impact.

Alexander said he was glad to see Leko’s frustration at being replaced though by Ash Hunter, saying if a player is happy to come off, they are in the wrong job.

“I'd be disappointed to see a player who wanted to come off,” said the head coach. “But all of them have to understand what we have to do to win a game.

“And if we decide we're bringing on another excellent professional footballer, they have to show respect to the man coming on, whether they agree or disagree - and they're never going to agree with coming off. I've got no problems with that. We've got more than 11 good players here at MK Dons.

“If you want to bring it up, have that discussion with me after the game, have it on Monday, and come with evidence!”

The change in the game for the second-half means the opportunities for Leko and Eisa dried up somewhat, with Tranmere adapting to their shortcomings in the first 45 mintues to prevent Dons from capitalising in the same fashion they did in early in the game.

Alexander continued: “There are things we can do to prevent that - don't play in front of the centre-halves, make runs in behind the lines. We asked them at half-time to do that, and Mo did that in the second-half.

“We don't expect them to go and win headers against defenders six inches taller than you, but you can still compete and help the team in the second phase.”