Poor, abject and fragmented: Lewington’s assessment of Dons defeat to Bristol Rovers

Dean Lewington said when MK Dons fix one problem, another one comes along after their ‘abject’ 1-0 defeat to Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night.

Having created chances against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday while looking defensively at sea, the tides turned three days later as they created just one clear-cut effort - a tame Bradley Johnson header - while giving up precious little at the other end.

Johnson would foul Ryan Loft with 15 minutes to go though to allow Antony Evans to fire in the penalty to secure the win for Joey Barton’s men.

Back in the side in place of Jack Tucker, Lewington said ultimately the team is not good enough at the moment.

“It was really poor,” he said. “We set out to be a bit more resolute, harder to beat but we fell into the trap of sitting back. We were very poor on the ball, a mistake cost us and we had no answer.

“It's sticking plasters at the moment - we're fixing something and it's leaking somewhere else. When we solve one thing, something else is a problem. That's down to not being good enough.

“It's not about effort or desire, which it can look like as it's fragmented but we're all trying. But when things go against you, it hits your confidence and people start coming away from the script. It can look ugly at times.”

He continued: “We were pretty abject tonight, and there's no getting away from that, but there's a game again on Saturday and we have to do better. We have to try and get something from this game, see what we did and didn't do and try to be better.

“At the moment, we're in a difficult period. The harder you work, the luckier you get so we have to roll our sleeves up and give it a go, show a bit more fight and more penetration in the attacking third.”