Dons boss Paul Warne spoke ahead of Saturday’s game against Barnet

Paul Warne hopes MK Dons can give the huge travelling MK Dons supporters something to cheer at Barnet on Saturday, or he feels he will be out of excuses.

More than 1,200 fans have snapped up tickets for the game at The Hive - the first competitive game between the sides which fans have been able to attend.

Away support for Dons has been excellent so far this term, with the side responding in kind with the best away record in the league, ironically ahead of Barnet on goal-difference alone.

Dons’ first-team has won five out of six heading into the game, with the only blip coming against Bromley a couple of weeks ago by the way of a 2-1 defeat in south London, and Warne believes there are precious few straws he could clutch to should his side not put in a performance against the Bees this Saturday.

“We’re taking a good crowd which will always helps, and it will be a good feeling about the place,” he said. “Football is unscripted theatre. You want the noise, the excitement, even the odd ‘boo’ isn’t bad, it’s all a part of the panto. It’s good for the players to play in front of them when they’re in good form.

“We’re all in a good place, there’s competition for places, so if we don’t perform I’ll be out of excuses.”

Dean Brennan’s side have come up from the National League in good form, and sit just three points behind Dons in League Two on their return to the EFL. By no means a plucky underdog though, Warne has told his players not to take their opponents for granted.

He said: “They’re only three points behind us in the league, they’re not miles behind us, it’s not the big dogs against the little underdogs.

“They’re a really good team, they’re really brave when they play, they can leave you one-vs-one on the half-way line, they come for you man-to-man, they have the highest xG in the league and they’re a good age too. They’ve been really well managed after promotion.

“Dean has done a really good job, and I enjoy watching his post-match interviews I really like him. The way they play and how they go about games this season has been really impressive, and they’ve beaten some really good teams. It will be tough.”