"We're not talking about it": Williamson on Dons' auto chances after heavy loss

MK Dons head coach Mike Williamson said talk of automatic promotion has never been a topic of conversation he has indulged in this season after his side's chances took a heavy dent on Saturday, going down 5-0 to Stockport County.

Now three points adrift of the top three, all of whom have games in hand over Dons, the chances of an automatic return to League One look remote.

But Williamson, who has previously stated he does not pay much attention to the league table, said any talk of automatic promotion would have been laughed off when he first took over with the club in 17th, and that he was not about to start in the final month.

He said: "I think if we talked about automatic promotion the day we came in, a lot of people would have thought we were mad. I've not really talked about it since, and I'm not going to talk about it now.

"We've got a couple of games coming up in quick succession. We'll evaluate and go again. We're focused on the next one and that's it."

No criticism from the boss

Playing in front of the Sky Sports cameras, Williamson's side looked the better against a Stockport side equally desperate to assert themselves on the top three battle. But a mistake on the half-hour mark from Michael Kelly allowed Callum Camps to convert against the run of play. It upset the apple cart for Dons, and goals from Paddy Madden and Tanto Olaofe before the break put the game beyond reach, before second-half strikes from Connor Lemonhaigh Evans and Neill Byrne wrapped up the emphatic result for the Hatters.

But despite individual errors costing Dons for many of the goals, Williamson would not criticise his side and went as far as to say he was pleased with how his side played at Edgeley Park.

He said: "That's the nature of football, why we all love it. At the minute, we're on the raw end of a heavy defeat. But when we diagnose and look back at it, we've got to hold our hands p and admit we gave goals away uncharacteristically.

"We played really well, we were clean and sharp, we mixed it up but we couldn't take our chances early on when we were dominant. Then we were punished.

"When we give away a mistake, we need to refocus and go again to get the momentum back. But Stockport are up there for a reason and they were clinical with everything they did."