Manning explains strong squad selection in Dons win over West Ham U21s

Usually a competition used for breeding youngsters, MK Dons’ line-up against West Ham U21s on Tuesday night was far stronger than most anticipated.

While it took three changes early in the second half to spark Dons and indeed the game into life, all of Liam Manning’s starting XI has been a relative regular in the side this season.

Following the poor showing at the weekend against Peterborough, Manning admitted a lot of the players needed to get that performance out of their system while giving players like captain Dean Lewington time on the field after the international break.

He said: “We didn't want to make too many changes from the weekend, I was conscious with momentum with Skip to give him game time after the international break and now playing at the weekend.

“But the group needed momentum as well. We thought about making a lot of changes, and for some of them they needed to get over the weekend by being out there playing.

“That's the reason we went with the team we did tonight.”