The Wigan Athletic defender said he has endured a difficult 18 months

Jon Mellish had concerns he may be the problem after making a rough start to his loan spell at MK Dons.

The 28-year-old joined on loan from Wigan Athletic, but his arrival coincided with their first league defeat of the season at home to Walsall, before then getting sent off in the first-half of his second game, the 3-2 defeat to Grimsby Town.

Mellish admitted to having a tough 18-months in the lead-up to his move to MK1. After suffering relegation from League One with Carlisle United, he had only a short time with Wigan before being sent on loan to Milton Keynes.

And after seeing Dons hit trouble no sooner had he arrived on the scene, Mellish felt he might have been the reason.

“I’ve had a tough couple of years, going through a relegation, and I was looking forward to things here but losing those games left me wondering if I was the problem,” he admitted. “It was tough, mentally more than anything.

“It has been an up and down start for me, to be honest. I came in excited and I was raring to go, but we got beaten in the first game and I got sent off in the second, I was thinking ‘oh god what’s going on here?!’

“But I took a step back, I’ve moved down here, I’ve settled and I’ve benefited from it. I think it just took me a bit of time.”

Since returning to the side though, Mellish has played a key part in helping Dons to big wins over Gillingham, Bristol Rovers and Crewe.

He continued: “I’ve had such a hit and miss start to the season, but I’m starting to get fitter. I feel a bit more freedom now, and I think you can see that, I’m getting stronger and stronger.

“I’m enjoying playing at the moment. And when things go well and you win four games in a row, you enjoy it a lot more.”

Having plenty of experience of the fourth tier, Mellish feels his game lends itself well to football in League Two, particularly the role head coach Paul Warne has asked of him.

He added: “I’ve played a lot of games in League Two, I know it inside and out. It’s a hard league and a horrible league, so if you don’t work hard, win your battles, you’ll struggle. I base my game on that - I try and be aggressive, get in people’s faces and see how much they want to run. Hopefully it’s starting to work.

“I was playing as part of the back four when I came in, which was quite new for me, I felt a bit exposed at times as I adjusted, and then I’ve started to play at wing-back which suits my game.”