Test of character
Mental battle for Dons to overcome
MK Dons will make the play-offs this season; I have little doubt of that. What concerns me more, with a play-off campaign looming, is the apparent lack of mental resilience within the side. The Dons appear to lack the self-belief, composure, concentration and air of invincibility that accompany the best sides. Look at Manchester United, over the years, under Six Alex Ferguson.
They are a side who never know when they are beaten, who maintain the belief that they can, and will win, right up to the final whistle, and who rarely, if ever, lose their nerve. They have scored dozens of last minute goals over the years, and have made many a comeback from the most desperate of situations.
Compare that to the current MK Dons side that has, in the last two games, led by a solitary goal going into the last ten minutes, but have been left with only one point for their efforts across the two games, after a last minute equaliser by Wycombe Wanderers, which was followed up by a gutless implosion against Carlisle, where a 1-0 lead slipped away, in a painstakingly long final ten minutes, to become a 2-1 defeat.
These last-minute heartbreaks would be more bearable if they were balanced out. Yet, this season, in the league, I can only think of one occasion where the Dons have scored a meaningful goal (i.e. a goal that earned the side points) in the last five minutes of a game – the opening day of the season at home to Hartlepool.
realistic
By contrast, the last two games, coupled with the 3-3 draw away at Brentford (where the Dons led 3-0 before Brentford completed a second half comeback in injury time), have seen the Dons surrender three winning positions in the dying stages of matches – those extra six points would have meant the side could still have harboured realistic hopes of automatic promotion. Some statistician may be able to correct me, but the general impression is that the Dons very rarely produce late goals when they would matter.
Mentality must, I think, play a large part in this. The side appear to be as fit as any other in the league, and it is certainly not a question of ability, as the team’s place at fifth in the table pays testament to. Yet, for all the aesthetically pleasing, technically sound football played by Robinson’s squad, there is a lack of the grit and courage needed to force those last minute winners, or to stand up to late onslaughts from the opposition. When put on the back foot late on against Carlisle, the Dons, who had controlled much of the game, withered before the eyes of their supporters, lambs rather than lions, victims rather than victors.
The pressure is only going to be amplified in the coming weeks, as the season reaches its apex, and the Dons’ promotion credentials face their final, and biggest, test. On the basis of what I have seen over the course of this season I don’t believe that any of the other play-off contenders possess more quality or class in their sides than the MK Dons.
What I do fear is that they have managers, coaches and players who are, psychologically, more resilient; who will not lose focus or belief; and who will show bravery and bottle when it matters, at the most crucial times. These are mental characteristics that have appeared lacking from the current MK Dons side at times this season, and the significance of this should not be underestimated, especially as we approach such a psychologically, emotionally demanding stage of the season. If the Dons fall short this season, and on recent performances I fear they will, I predict it to be a shortcoming of the side’s mentality, rather than their footballing ability.