Grant McCann says Doncaster won’t get carried away with win over in-form MK Dons

Posted Tuesday, January 02, 2024 by PA

Grant McCann insists nobody at Doncaster will be getting too carried away after they put their Christmas struggles behind them in emphatic fashion with a 3-0 win over in-form MK Dons.

Rovers suffered three consecutive chastening defeats over the festive period before stopping the rot with a well-deserved draw at Mansfield.

And first-half goals from Luke Molyneux, Joe Ironside and Tommy Rowe saw them sweep aside MK Dons in emphatic fashion for a first league win in six attempts.

But McCann says there is plenty of progress still to be made for Rovers to get their season back on track.

“I don’t think anyone is getting too overjoyed by it,” he said. “It’s a good result against a good MK Dons team that had been unbeaten for nine games in the league before this.

“It’s a nice reward for the hard work that we’ve put in over the last seven or eight days when we’ve had to bounce and rejig after the three disappointing results that we had.

“It’s a tremendous effort to go to Mansfield, who in my opinion are probably the best team in the division, and follow it up against another really good team and get the win.

“I thought we were very good in the first half. We played some really good football and created some great chances. We probably should have been six up rather than 3-0 up at half-time.

“I think we took the performance from Mansfield on into this one and the first half was excellent.”

MK Dons head coach Mike Williamson believes the defeat to Doncaster has delivered a stark reminder to his side that nothing will come easy to them in League Two.

The Dons had won their previous four matches and were unbeaten in the league since October prior to the heavy defeat.

“It was a disappointing 45 minutes and we were off our levels,” Williamson said. “We didn’t start well or play forward enough and were punished from two set-pieces and a long ball that we were caught out from.

“I wouldn’t say it was a wake-up call because we know how difficult this league can be, but I was pleased with the second-half performance and reaction, because everyone came out, took responsibility and we had chances to score.

“So, it’s a difficult one to take but there are plenty of positives to take away because I was pleased with the response to the first half and we just have to dust ourselves down and be prepared for the next game.

“We can’t afford too many lessons like that this season but, if we can learn from it, then that will be a positive.”