No change to Dons’ approach as play-offs with Wycombe loom

Promotion to the Championship with MK Dons would be quite an achievement for Liam Manning, but he is not overlooking the task at hand against Wycombe Wanderers.

Dons take on the Chairboys in the play-offs, beginning at 7.45pm tomorrow night at Adams Park before the return leg at Stadium MK on Sunday (6.30pm).

The team from MK1 have not been in the second tier since 2016, and it sparked the club’s downward spiral and saw them plummet to League Two just two years later.

Potentially just three games away from promotion, Manning was keen not to think too far ahead knowing the challenge which lies ahead in south Bucks tomorrow night.

“It would be a fantastic achievement, what we're all striving for and working hard for and we'll see where we get to,” he said. “It's nice to have that as the dream at the end of the season but we have to understand what got us here - preparation, work, controlling our emotions, staying disciplined.

“Promotion would be a byproduct of getting all those things right. We will control what we can.”

On the play-off games that lie ahead, Manning continued: “It's really exciting. Gareth has done a terrific job there, but so have we this season. You've got two in-form sides who has fairly similar attributes. Culture is paramount for Gareth just as it is for us here. We've got good strong people, respectful, hard-working, honest in how they perform.

“It's one game, ultimately, over 180 minutes. It's important to go into the game tomorrow knowing that, but it doesn't massively affect how we try and play or what we'll do.

“We've gone into every game this season looking to win it and tomorrow night will be no different. We're going up against a strong Wycombe side in a good vein of form. They're a good side with some real strengths in their team that we have to be ready for.”