MK Dons could have won by more against Burton, says Liam Manning

Posted Sunday, November 21, 2021 by PA

Liam Manning was delighted with MK Dons’ third straight Sky Bet League One win but believes they should have been out of sight instead of battling to a 1-0 victory against Burton.

Max Watters scored his sixth goal in as many games to condemn Burton to a fourth successive league defeat.

The hosts missed several opportunities, but Manning was happy with how they controlled the match and was proud of the clean sheet.

“I thought we could have been 3-0 up at half time,” he said.

“We created four or five really good chances. It was a really difficult game in terms of the way they set up.

“There’s bits to get better at and work at, but ultimately they didn’t have a shot on target, so we’ve shown again that we can be comfortable and in control even when we’re out of possession.

“We’ve not had enough clean sheets this season but today we defended really well and we felt pretty comfortable. We stood up and dealt with what they threw at us today.

“It was one moment of real quality from Max Watters, it was a really good run and touch and ball from him.

“We’ve got such a good group of pros here and we’ve got a lot of young players here, and this is the perfect place for them to come and develop. We need to have a culture where people are hungry and want to develop.”

A third straight victory lifts MK Dons to fifth in the table, while Burton have dropped to 15th.

The Brewers have scored 16 times this season, the joint third fewest in the division, and manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink admits they need to create more chances.

“We need to create a lot more because we got a few chances in their final third and our final passes have to be better and we need to be more clinical to help them. We weren’t convincing at that.,” he said.

“I thought at half-time that we were going to kick on, but they’re a good side. They have good momentum and we’re still finding our way.

“Did we deserve to lose? If you look at the chances they created then yes. I would have been upset if we had had the chances they had today and we didn’t win.

“Overall we contained them really well, but off the back of that we needed to go and hurt them, and we didn’t do that.

“It’s always a concern when you lose, but I’m not somebody that panics. It’s about keeping working and staying calm. I saw a lot good performances and improvement today.”