Tisdale wants MK Dons players to 'relax' and 'take a deep breath' after Burton beating

Paul Tisdale watches his side during their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Burton Albion on Saturday (Picture: Jane Russell)

Dons we beaten by a Liam Boyce brace and a strike from Oliver Sarkic that left them down in 17th in Sky Bet League One and six points above the relegation zone.

But despite the obvious disappointment, Tisdale was trying not to get too down with the current run – four defeats in the last five games – and believes the Dons have the players to turn their season around.

He said: “I’m asking the players to take a deep breath on the pitch and relax because it has been so hard.

"I’ll have a chat with myself and tell myself to take a deep breath as well.

“We’ve got good players on the pitch, but of course we have plenty missing too, which does not help with changes and options for me.

“We have enough good players and we have got to get them playing to their strengths and believe in themselves - at the moment it looks like they’re trying too hard and their confidence is knocked.”

Burton took a deserved lead on 32 minutes when Nathan Broadhead’s long ball from inside his own half found Sarkic inside the MK box, whose first-time pass across goal to Boyce left the 28-year-old with a routine header past Lee Nicholls.

Sarkic double Burton’s lead inside 54 minutes with a fine left-footed finish from the edge of MK Dons box for his first league goal of the season.

Boyce added a third and his second of the game late on to round off a comfortable win.

And Tisdale says he will not be too hard on his players and says he may opt to step back and take the pressure off them ahead of their next game at Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

He added: “Maybe it’s time to go back to basics and maybe for me to take a step back from the players, because they’re trying so hard and maybe that has created a problem for them - they’re terribly disappointed but I love them for it and we’re in it together.”