Poor start set the tone for Dons in defeat to Peterborough

Liam Manning said there were no excuses for his side’s poor performance against Peterborough United on Saturday.

After two weeks on the training pitch without a game, Manning was buoyed by what he saw from his side when he spoke ahead of the game, but after just two minutes at Stadium MK he saw his trailing to Johnson Clarke-Harris’ simple finish.

Goals from Kwame Poku and Ricky-Jade Jones saw Dons 3-0 down by the 54 minute mark as Peterborough looked to cruise to a third 3-0 win in a row, but for two goals in stoppage time from Daniel Harvie and Matt Smith threatening to salvage an unlikely point for the hosts.

But Manning said the goals were of little boost to him after a torrid afternoon.

He said: “We can make excuses but we have to start games on the front foot, and when you concede after two minutes, you're not doing that. It was a frustrating one today. The players don't deliberately go out and not perform but this is a tough one to take.

“We did our homework, we knew they'd be dangerous in wide areas with the threats they have. It's really disappointing.”

He continued: “We have to stick together as a group. When you're having a tough period, when you're not getting the results, it's about sticking together. We've got a lot of games coming up now where we have the chance to change all that.

“They have to lift and believe in themselves, but it's on all of us. It is frustrating today because the training was fantastic. The players have to believe and have conviction in their actions. We have to make sure we drive that and we'll be doing that in the week.

“We've got a core of characters in there, and we have to stick together.”