“We have to do it on a weekly basis:” Martin on winning as assistant and looking ahead to Leicester City

David Martin has called for consistency from the MK Dons players after they picked up their first league win in nearly two months on Saturday.

The win over Portsmouth, while it sees them remain in the League One relegation zone, cut the gap to safety to just three points heading into the Christmas period.

Martin has been acting as assistant manager over the last week alongside Dean Lewington following the sacking of Liam Manning, and will once again be the number two in the dugout on Tuesday when Dons take on Leicester City, this time next to Bradley Johnson while the skipper has hamstring surgery.

Used to barking orders from between the posts, Martin said giving them from the sidelines was an enjoyable experience, and feels the squad now knows what they are capable of, and must repeat it regularly to get out of trouble.

“It shows what the lads are capable of,” he said. “We haven't changed loads, Dean's done what he's had to do with the shape; the analysts have highlighted things that have gone wrong and right.

“It's just about being positive, reminding them they are good players. You can get caught in that hole sometimes and it's tough to get out of it. But we'd like to think the players can see they can do it - they can go to places like Portsmouth and win.

“The league is vital for us, so we've got to keep a level of consistency. There's no reason why we can't look around at each other and believe in each other and themselves as well.

“They've shown they can do it, but they have to do it on a weekly basis until the end of the season. Whoever does come in hopefully has a good foundation to get that out of them.”

Out to cause another famous upset

Martin is no stranger to upsetting Premier League sides in the Carabao Cup, famously keeping a clean sheet in the 4-0 win over Manchester United in 2014.

The Foxes head to Stadium MK ready for their first game since the start of the World Cup in November, and Martin is under no illusions Brendan Rodgers’ side will be a force to be reckoned with.

However, with a win under their belt on Saturday and nothing to lose heading into the game, he believes anything could happen.

He continued: “That night against Manchester United, no-one gave us a cat in hell’s chance but nothing in football is a cert. If the lads go and enjoy it, we’ve seen what they can do, and hopefully we’ll come out on the right side of it. 

“We'll go through Leicester's strengths and weaknesses, not that they have many weaknesses! It will be good to put our stamp on the game. We can go into the game, enjoy it more, we all want to do well.

“Brad will be the main man, and I'll be there to help out as much as I can as I did with Dean.

“We want to enjoy it for what it is - you never know in football.”