Senior spine of the team are buying into Neilson's new way

Two weeks into his Dons career, Neilson has seen excellent performances from the trio in the 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon and the extra time triumph against Charlton on Tuesday night.

Bowditch found the back of the net in both games, while Lewington was excellent playing out of position at centre back, while Potter played string-puller and midfield general.

And Neilson has highlighted the trio as being key in getting the rest of the team to playing up to his standards.

"It's important to have a group of players who guide the team through the spine," said Neilson. "We have guys in there who know what we want and will go out and do it. It's those three, but there are others there too that can drive us forward.

"My job is to keep them happy and guide them through.

"Dean Bowditch one of the key players for us. He brings experience, and if I ask him to play a certain way, he'll go out and do it and cover for people. We've got a lot of experience in there. The likes of Darren Potter and Dean Lewington too, players who can organise the way people play out on the pitch."

After winning two games in three days, finally putting to bed their torrid run at home, the atmosphere around Stadium MK is a much more positive one than previously this season.

But while Neilson has been the orchestrator of that, the manager says the only thing he's noticed that is any different have been the results so far.

He said: "I hadn't been here when it was difficult, so I don't know what the atmosphere is like. My first game watching was at Charlton, and the spirit amongst the away fans was excellent. And then on Saturday, it was excellent again.

"We just need to keep up the momentum, keep winning and have the fans keep turning up and backing the players. The players want to win, that's why they play. It's the ultimate goal."

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