“Winning games where we’re at is important,”: Manning reacts to MK Dons’ Trophy victory

Liam Manning was pleased with how his side made light work of Newport County on Tuesday night to progress into the last 16 of the Papa John’s Trophy.

The 3-1 win at Stadium MK, thanks to goals from Darragh Burns, Matt Dennis and Will Grigg, might not have been the most entertaining of games but off the back of consecutive defeats by the same scoreline, victory was the most important thing.

After a lacklustre showing against Barnsley on Saturday, Manning made eight changes to his side to face the Exiles, and admitted some of them have given him food for thought ahead of this Saturday’s FA Cup second round clash with Portsmouth after impressing on the night.

“It was important to change the squad a lot tonight to provide opportunity,” he said. “We needed people to step up and deliver and ultimately give us a headache for team selection for the FA Cup and the league. It's a good headache to have.

“It was a good performance, that was the important thing. We knew if we played well the result would take care of itself. I was pleased with a lot of aspects tonight. We built well in passages, created good chances and could have scored more. A lot of the lads stepped up and took their opportunity tonight.

“Winning games where we're at is important, it breeds confidence. We want to take the momentum from it, and I felt it at Walsall earlier this season too. We will never take winning lightly, whatever the competition.

“You have to enjoy it, no matter the opposition and the lads deserved it tonight.”