Relegation threats hit home after Port Vale defeat, Kaikai admits

There is a belief again in the MK Dons squad that they can escape the clutches of the relegation battle.

Following a tough few weeks for the club, culminating in the dismal 1-0 defeat to Port Vale two weeks ago, it felt as though the writing was on the wall for Mark Jackson’s side. But back-to-back wins over relegation rivals Cambridge and Accrington has lifted Dons out of the bottom four, but also the spirits around the club too.

Sullay Kaikai, who netted the all-important goal in the win at the Wham Stadium on Saturday said after some frank chats in the squad following the loss at Vale Park, the threat of relegation hit home and lit a fire under the squad again.

“I feel like leading up to the Cambridge game, it hit home,” he said. “We had a talk about where we want to be and what we need to do to achieve that it's brought the lads together. Jacko has played a massive role in that.

“Now we have the belief to go on and get the points we need.”

Kaikai’s second goal for Dons since joining in January was enough to secure the points in Lancashire, lifting them above Accrington in League One and crucially out of the relegation zone. Despite coming under pressure from the home side in the second-half, Accrington only really had two efforts on target as Dons claimed their second consecutive clean sheet.

“It was a strong performance,” Kaikai added. “We set out with a plan, and we executed it. There is a balance - we’ve got our identity back a bit now. We know when to play, when to go long.

“I'm obviously pleased with the goal, but we defended really well for 90 minutes so we're really pleased.

“Coming here is always going to be scrappy, and I think we dealt with it well. We played some of our stuff at the right times.”