Maintaining the feel-good factor will be key for Dons against Bristol City
The MK Dons head coach looks ahead to tonight’s Carabao Cup game against Bristol City
Having a Carabao Cup match so early in the season is not helpful for anyone, according to MK Dons boss Paul Warne.
Dons take on Championship side Bristol City on Tuesday night at Ashton Gate, with Warne’s side having played twice and the Robins only once as the Championship kicked off last weekend.
With two divisions separating the sides ahead of kick-off, Warne said there is little pressure on his side to go to Bristol and book their second round spot, but hopes his players can keep up the feel-good factor they have built in the early knockings.
“Having a cup game this early isn’t ideal for management teams but we have rough ideas of what sort of team they will put out,” Warne said. “We’ll put out a team which is competitive and we still want to get a positive result from the game. I also want to come away from it injury-free and to keep the impetus and feel-good in the squad that we’ve built up.
“I appreciate the difference in levels but that doesn’t mean we can’t be competitive, and we’ll enjoy the game for what it is.”
The Robins reached the Championship play-offs last season but were beaten 6-0 on aggregate by Sheffield United. With former Dons boss Liam Manning leaving Ashton Gate destined for home-town club Norwich City, Gerhard Struber took over and helped Bristol City claim revenge over the Blades, beating them 4-1 at Bramall Lane on Saturday.
Warne, who was managing in the Championship against City last season with Derby County, admitted he was a big fan of the setup at Ashton Gate.
“They had a really good season last year, I loved them under Liam,” he said. “They’ve had a change of management now, and have started in a right good vein of form. We know we’re playing against a Championship side, we know how they’ve played.”
Dons midfielder Will Collar added: “They had a really good result at the weekend, they’re a high-pressing team and obviously have Championship-level players so it will be a good test for us. It should be a good game.”