Players must take more responsibility after Crewe defeat

Ben Gladwin said the MK Dons players let themselves and manager Russell Martin down after their dismal first half showing away at Crewe on Saturday.

Two goals in quick succession in the opening 20 minutes put paid to any realistic chances Dons had of ending their 17-game away-day streak without a win, thanks to goals from Mikael Mandron and Oliver Finney.

Dons dominated the possession stats, particularly in the second half but registered just one shot on goal during the game - a tame Joe Mason effort midway through the second half.

After Russell Martin admitted the first half was the poorest he'd seen since he took charge of the club last November, Gladwin, who was making his first start since November 2017, said the players did not react well enough to going a goal down and it cost them.

"I think we really let ourselves down in the first half," he said. "When we conceded the first goal, we dropped off and gave them a fair bit of confidence. From there we never really recovered. The second half was better, we showed a bit more fight and controlled the game but ultimately it wasn't good enough.

"As players, we have to take responsibility. (Manager Russell Martin) puts so much work into it but as soon as we cross that white line it's on us. We're the only ones who can do anything about that.

"We need to respond better than we do, and we've only got ourselves to blame. If you look at the first 10 minutes, which I know isn't a lot to go off, I think we started brightly, and I thought we'd have a really good afternoon. After that first goal though, we should have gotten back to that level we showed in the first 10 minutes and that's something we have to work on."

After three opening games to the season, Dons have just a single point to their name and sit 22nd in the League One table. Despite the disappointing start though, Gladwin says it is too early to judge the new-look Dons.

He added: "It's really easy to get caught up in the first three results – we feel it too and we're disappointed. Dwelling on it won't help, we can only review it and move on and improve.

"This is one of the best dressing rooms I've been a part of. We've got to give the gaffer and Luke something back now because they have put a lot of trust in us."