"We can't feel sorry for ourselves" says Micciche after fifth Dons defeat

MK Dons are running out of places to hide after yet another defeat, this time to Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night.
Micciche's reactionMicciche's reaction
Micciche's reaction

With the gap to League 1 safety now six points, and the run of defeats standing at five in all competitions, Dan Micciche is facing a huge task to turn the sinking tanker around.

Tuesday's showing away at Oldham, on a frozen and badly bobbling Boundary Park surface, did little to ease fans' fears of impeding League 2 football, especially with no shots on goal in the second 45 minutes.

For Micciche, it's no wins since he took over four games ago, and he offered up precious few excuses.

"I'm gutted, absolutely gutted," he said. "We knew it would be scrappy, the pitch is basically unplayable. It's the type of game that gets decided by a set piece and unfortunately they've scored it. We've done so much work on set pieces and haven't taken advantage of ours.

"I think we had the better of the play in certain areas, but we're lacking that quality. We have to improve quickly because we know the situation we're in.

"We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We will do everything we can to win on Saturday, it's a massive game - I'm under no illusions.

"There are still plenty of points to play for, and mathematically we can climb way up the league., We've seen other teams do it, but we just need that first win. Once we do that, build momentum we can get some confidence in the dressing room."

After boldly predicting he had enough firepower in his side, Dons failed to find the net for the third game under Micciche, and he admitted there was a lack of quality in their play going forwards at Boundary Park.

"No, there isn't (enough quality) and we have to be better. We had a plan at half time but we didn't help ourselves at times. A basic pass breaking down, or the final ball not coming in, the ball just isn't dropping for us. We have to address this immediately."

With the gap to safety now sitting at six points, Micciche remains confident though his side can get out of trouble.

He said: "I think, if you look at the games we have coming up, they're winnable. We have to start picking up points and I'm confident we can do that."