Head coach Paul Warne spoke after MK Dons beat Fleetwood Town 2-1 at Stadium MK on Saturday

MK Dons’ 2-1 win over Fleetwood Town looked more like a Paul Warne side than ever before, the head coach felt on Saturday.

With the side hitting top spot in League Two, albeit for a couple of hours while the rest of the division played, in pretty straight-forward fashion against the Cod Army, Warne said his side are starting to tick more and more boxes in what he wants.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s fifth goal of the season, and third from the penalty spot, after 37 minutes before the excellent Aaron Nemane lashed home a second with 21 minutes to go to put Dons in pole position, though their two-goal advantage only lasted two minutes before Ched Evans pulled one back for Fleetwood.

Thereafter though, the visitors barely troubled Craig MacGillivray’s goal, with the better chances falling the way of Callum Paterson, Joe Tomlinson and Aaron Collins at the other end.

“It looked a lot more like how I see it,” said Warne afterwards. “The team looked really bonded. I didn’t come away from Bromley (where they lost 2-1 last month) thinking there was much wrong, so it’s really pleasing.

“I felt like we kept the game at our pace, there was a lot more threat and a lot more chances. I always want to out-create the opposition, and we never setup to draw. We grab games but the throat and make things happen. We want them to have less fear in taking risks. Sometimes the risk is worth it.

“I really liked it. If we’d conceded late on, I think it would have been harsh on my team. I’d have been disappointed but not by the performance. We created loads of opportunities, loads of chances to score and the lads gave us everything physically. There was a lot more ‘play forward, run forward’ against a really well organised team, and I’m really pleased.”

While their time at the top of the table is only short, Warne admitted leaping to the head of the pile still has meaning, even if only for a couple of hours.

“It’s a great feeling,” he added. “All you can do is win your game, and keep winning. It’s nice to drive home and to listen to the scores knowing our work is done. You just have to back it up. This league is relentless.”