‘When a team overachieves, they lose their best players’ - Pompey boss on Dons ahead of FA Cup clash

Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley suggested MK Dons ‘perhaps overachieved’ last season en route to third place in League One.

Dons head to Fratton Park to take on Pompey in the FA Cup second round on Saturday in an all-third tier clash. While 14 positions in the league table separate the sides, with Portsmouth sat seventh at present, seven spots was the difference last term as Dons finished third.

Speaking about Liam Manning’s side ahead of the FA Cup game, Cowley said some of Dons’ problems this season have come as a result of losing key men which helped them last season, but claimed they may have overachieved last time out.

“It was an outstanding season for them last term and they probably deserved to be promoted, but just came up short in the play-offs,” he said. “When a team perhaps overachieves, they often lose some of their best players – with the likes of Scott Twine and Harry Darling moving to Championship clubs.

“They’ve also had some key injuries to deal with, but some of them are starting to come back and you’re now seeing more consistency.

“But we know that we’ve got to get through a really tough test against MK Dons first and we expect to see the best of them.

“They had a great win in the first round and are a dangerous team who are well coached and have plenty of good players.”

He continued: “A lot of teams come to Fratton Park and sit behind the ball – as is their prerogative – but I don’t anticipate MK Dons being like that.

“They have a clear style, like to dominate the ball and ask a lot of questions of you, so we’ll have to be at our best, both in and out of possession.

“It would be brilliant to reach the third round – it would be a special occasion to face a Premier League side at Fratton Park.”