Dan Micciche calls on MK Dons to gain momentum after Rotherham win
MK Dons manager Dan Micciche has called on his team to build on their first league win in 2018 through upcoming fixtures.
The Dons boss spoke after picking up his first victory in charge, as his side beat Rotherham United 3-2 at stadium:mk. The match saw his side bounce back from an early concession to lead through a Robbie Muirhead double and a Peter Pawlett strike.
Micciche spoke of his delight to get the win, but now looked to build momentum for Saturday’s vital clash with fellow strugglers Bury.
He said, “Its another challenge for me, and that’s why I’m in coaching. I came here to help the club, and I believe in the chairman and this squad. I’ve got a brilliant backroom staff, which I only finished putting together last week.
“People have dug in and stuck together, and we got our rewards tonight. But no one’s getting carried away. We’ve got 10 cup finals to go, and we must build on this on Saturday.
“Its about momentum now. I know its easy for me to say the spirit’s been good, but no one’s head has dropped as we’ve realised we’ve been close in the games we’ve competed. We need to work hard and re-focus because Saturday is another big game, and we’ve got the games to define our season. Today was brilliant and is something to tick off, but our minds are now firmly on Saturday.”
In the match, the Dons boss had faith the team could pull off the comeback even despite the early concession, and felt the players gave it their all against high-flying opposition.
“To go 1-0 down after 10 minutes, people expect us to collapse. But I’ve had full faith in these places, just like what I had seen at Fleetwood. They’ve shown tonight the character they’ve got and that they’re up for the fight.
“We’ve come up against a really strong side, who are 4th in the league and well coached. But tonight was about us. Robbie Muirhead got a well deserved call up for Scotland today, and rose to the occasion. Lee Nicholls pulled off a match winning save too, but I thought all of them gave everything for this football club. All we ask for is 110% and fighting for the badge, and we got the win.”
With players returning from injury, Micciche felt the team’s returning strength in depth was reflected by a strong performance.
He said, “Its the most balanced team we’ve had since I came here with the strongest bench. There’s real competition for places now after all the injuries and suspensions, and I think that’s lifted everyone because they all know they’ve got to perform.
“I felt really good in the first half even at 1-0 down, because I could see we were strong against a team defending very narrow, and we got down the sides and provided a threat all night.”