Games against Wycombe, Peterborough and AFC Wimbledon have a little more riding on them for MK Dons

Derbies and rivalries help give Gethin Jones and the rest of the MK Dons dressing room a lift, and this week is set to be an emotionally charged one.

Having played Bucks rivals Wycombe Wanderers last weekend, Dons welcome old foes Peterborough United to Stadium MK this Saturday for the 31st meeting between the clubs. And the week will be rounded out with a trip to AFC Wimbledon next Thursday for the latest installment of the heated rivalry between the sides.

While the majority of Paul Warne’s squad have never experienced the rivalries between the three aforementioned, Jones said the players are plenty aware of the added bit of spice added to the games, and that picking up wins, starting this weekend against Peterborough, will mean so much to the supporters.

“I’ve only been here a year but I know how much these games in particular mean to the fans,” he said. “That’s why we were disappointed on Saturday, even though we had a good comeback, not to walk away with the three points.

“We know how important the games are, and it’s an important run too. Hopefully we can put smiles on the fans’ faces.

“It’s obviously a lot better when you do it against your rivals. Any three points in any game in this league is massively important and we’ll be massively focussed on these next games now.”

The dramatic comeback from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 last Saturday at Adams Park is by no means one of the more chaotic League One games this season, with goals flying in all over the division, with some big scorelines and upsets already coming in after just a handful of games.

Former Bolton man Jones said the league is still very much in its infancy and is struggling to settle due to large player turnover in the summer, but expects things to calm down in the next month or so as teams start to find their feet again.

He continued: “It’s always the case in the first five to ten games in the season before you start to see where people stand, and you get to analyse teams properly. Squads go through a lot of chance at the start.

“It has been frantic with all the games so far, but if we can get through the next few games with some good results and performances, we’ll see where we’re at and we can push on from there.”