Waiting for new head coach is impacting players on and off the field

Uncertainty off the field is having a big impact on it as well, MK Dons’ Tommi O’Reilly admitted.

Now more than a month since the sacking of Scott Lindsey, Dons are still waiting to appoint a head coach to take charge of the side for the remaining few games of the season. While it had been anticipated that a replacement could have been confirmed at the end of last week, the hunt looks set now to go into next as well.

Meanwhile, the ailing squad continues to tick off the games, with their latest a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Gillingham, as Bradley Dack netted in the 95th minute to pile more misery on his former Blackburn Rovers team-mate Ben Gladwin, in interim charge of the side.

For several weeks, Gladwin has said the players are in desperate need of a permanent fixture at the helm, and O’Reilly, on loan from Aston Villa, believes the uncertainty is showing on the field as well at the moment.

“No-one really knows what is going on, and it shows on the pitch,” he said. “There is a lot of confusion, but hopefully the club are picking the right candidate and hopefully we can kick on from here.

“It’s not great in (the dressing room), we’re all frustrated. There is a lot of tension around the building at the moment. We need a win, that will help us a lot and lift us. Once we get it, we’ll be alright after that but we’re still a bit nervous.”

Speaking about the late heartbreak at Priestfield, the Villa man continued: “It was really frustrating for us all. We battled well, showed what we were about but switched off at the last minute so we’re all really disappointed.

“I certainly struggled on the pitch, I think we found it harder to play. But in the second-half we had more of a plan to play in their half, to try to play in behind. I think it worked for 20, 30 minutes, I think we had them, but we just couldn’t find the end product.

“I felt we defended set pieces well throughout the game. Loz, Offy and Jack headed everything away all afternoon. But we just switched off at the last moment, and it has killed us.”