The Opposition View: Milton Keynes Dons

Last updated : 09 February 2018 By Jim Bonner

At the start of the season MK Dons were tipped for a promotion challenge and yet currently sit in the relegation zone. What has gone wrong?

I really don't know. I think most MK fans are stunned by how badly we are doing. It has to be down to Robbie Neilson as I think we had a good enough squad on paper to at least be up fighting for the play-offs.

At first I thought we were just taking time to gel but when we did play well, the next week it was back to rubbish. We still seem to be on a downer from our season in the Championship. It shouldn't be but we haven't played with any consistency since we have been back in League One or at least since Robinson went.

Did you believe the decision to sack Robbie Neilson was correct and what do you think of his replacement?

See above. I'm not sure it was the right time to do it though. Either should have been sooner when it looked like we weren't getting any better or stuck with until the end of the season. One reason being that I'm not sure the replacement is going to be any better at a relegation run in.

We (Winkelman) has a habit of going a bit outside the norm with his manager appointments and this is no exception. Most have been pretty successful but I'm not sure about Dan Micciche. Do we want a manager cutting his teeth here when the club is in a relegation fight? I feel A lot will depend on Keith Millen (assistant manager). I would rather we had gone for a manager who knew the lower leagues a bit better and had some experience.

Stuart O'Keefe and Matty Kennedy were once on loan at your club. What's your opinion on these two current Pompey loanees?

Neither played that much for us. I actually had to look up Matty Kennedy as I couldn't for the life of me remember him. It seems he played 7 games for us in 13/14 season. I don't remember.

Stuart O'Keefe was OK. Nothing special in a team that was licking it's wounds after a season of being pummelled in the Championship. He always put in a shift though which was more than most of our team did then.

What are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the current MK squad?

Have we got any strengths? Our midfield SHOULD be good but they flatter to deceive and the attack, well, cow's arse and banjo come to mind. In reality our defence is playing pretty well but if you can't score then your defence can't carry you.

Saying that, Lewington is past it. He's been with the club since the beginning and is now player/coach but hopefully he will be doing more coaching then playing. The whole team is pretty good on paper and pretty not good on the pitch!

Who are the key players in the MK team that Pompey fans should watch out for?

Marcus Tavernier looks good but has only played a couple of games for us so it's a bit early to say. Alex Gilbey is key to us playing well. In attack we should be doing better but Kieran Agard, if he plays and Osman Sow, if fit, are the ones to watch.

Pompey haven't won in 2018 yet so do you fancy your team to win on Saturday?

Neither have we, in the league. We did win a sneaky 1-0 against QPR in the cup but then got turned over by Coventry. I'm hoping we can get a result, especially as I'm taking my granddaughter to her first football match so if your club could roll over for her to see a win it would be appreciated!

Predict the outcome of the game.

A low scoring draw? 1-1. I'm not sure that will be good enough for us though. We need wins at home or we are going down. Hopefully the changes to the management will start to take effect with the team. I'd take any dirty horrible backs to the wall win on Saturday as our confidence is totally shot at the moment.