Keep calm and play on

STEPHEN Robinson said his side were guilty of going "too long, too early" in the defeat by Swindon Town

ATHLETIC will bid to fight fire with fire this weekend.

In hunting down a first home league win in six attempts and up against a side with a reputation for a passing game in MK Dons, manager Stephen Robinson is determined his side don't fall into the trap of hammering the ball forward too early.

Instead, he wants his men to take control in a similar manner to at Charlton, but with a better end result - one that could propel the team out of the bottom-four in Sky Bet League One.

"They will be similar to Charlton in playing a lot of football and Karl (Robinson) always sets his team up playing that way," said Robinson.

"But we have shown we are more than a match for anyone. We went too long against Swindon, too early.

"It's not something we have told the boys to do. It's a case of deciding when to play and when not to.

"The decision-making was poor then, but we showed composure at Charlton and we expect that same level of performance and ownership of the game against MK Dons."

Managerless Coventry's 2-2 home draw with AFC Wimbledon on Wednesday night leaves Athletic as the division's lowest scorers so far this season, with five goals in 10 outings.

That record is balanced by five clean sheets defensively and in making - though not converting - plenty of opportunities at Charlton, Robinson hopes his team will hit their attacking straps sooner rather than later.

"There was a lot of good stuff at Charlton, but it can't be that we drop down a level again," the manager warned.

"We will get it every now and again with a squad of players getting to know each other.

"When they produce that level of performance, you hope they can take it into Saturday.

"The players know how well they played at Charlton and were left disappointed not to win.

'STRUCTURE'

"What we perhaps haven't showed is quality going forward at times. We had to put in a structure where we don't concede goals and we are hard to beat and break down.

"I think it's starting to come now at the other end with our attacking play."

Though beaten 3-1 at home by Bury this week, MK Dons won't be overly perturbed by that given that they bossed the game overall.

Full-back George Baldock is determined to right the perceived wrongs of the Shakers loss.

"The brilliant thing about football is that the next game is only a few days away and you can move on," said Baldock, whose side sit 14th in the table.

"We need to bounce back."