Manning calls for Dons to be ruthless in front of goal to give themselves breathing space

Liam Manning has called on his MK Dons side to be more clinical in front of goal this season.

While Derby scored with their three attempts on goal at Stadium MK on Saturday in their 3-1 win, Dons should have been high and dry long before Hayden Roberts’ equaliser just before half-time, with Will Grigg and Bradley Johnson missing decent opportunities to give the hosts the lead.

It was a similar situation in their previous League One outing, with Dons having some great chances to snatch all the points in the 0-0 draw away at Cheltenham.

With other areas on the pitch beginning to show vastly improved form of late, helping Dons to pick up form, Manning says getting the final bit at the sharp end of the pitch to come good is something they know they must be better at.

He said: “We get into areas that really hurt teams. I can see down the line we'll be converting those chances and it'll allow us to breathe a bit more.

“That's where we are at the moment, and having that belief, confidence and ultimately composure in front of goal will give us that breathing space by going 1-0 up.

“But so many other things are going in the right direction that we have to stay true to us and believe in what we're capable of.

“All of the data from the game suggests we should get a point at the bare minimum. So carrying that into this week has been important. We've looked at what ultimately cost us at the weekend and we've been able to address them.

“We can do all that work, but now we have to execute it on the pitch when we go up to Barnsley on Saturday.”