Win was long overdue - Poole

Joe Mason's goal on the hour mark was enough to secure the points for Dons against Oxford - their first league win since mid-September. Though the result sees Dons remain in the relegation zone, they are now level on points with Tranmere Rovers, trailing by goal-difference.

Poole, who was in excellent form against Oxford, said the win was long overdue, with 91 days between league wins, but one which could restart Dons' toiling campaign.

He said: "The win has been a long time coming, and it's time to build on it now. We were holding on at times, but it's out the way now and it's time to put a run together and move forward.

"Last week, we played really well and deserved the three points. This week, we've improved on that and we've finally got the win that was needed. It was a real team performance and we thoroughly deserved it. To dig in for the last 20 minutes shows we can do that side of the game as well.

"We had a few good chances, it could have been three or four. We had to be really focussed, and the run we've been on hasn't reflected our performances recently.

"Since Russ took over, we've been playing lovely football, it has been nice to watch and it is working for us. Today, we finally got the three points and it's time to put a run together."

And though there were three months separating Dons' wins in League One, Poole said there was always an air of confidence in the Dons dressing room.

"Despite the run, we all believed we were going to win today," he continued. "We took a lot of confidence from last week, even though it was a late goal. As you can see, we started brightly, we had the better chances throughout the game, especially towards the end, and when the game opens up I think it suits us more."