Power and pace make Dons a team to respect
Reporter: Michael Yarwood
Date published: 12 September 2008
WHEN MK Dons arrive at Boundary Park tomorrow aiming to knock Athletic from the top of League One, they will be boosted by an astonishing record on their travels.
The Dons have played 23 away games in the past 12 months – and they have won 19 of them.
The remarkable run started under Paul Ince, who guided them to the League Two championship last season before being head-hunted by top-flight club Blackburn.
Now the manager is former Italian international Roberto di Matteo, but results continue to impress. And it will be first against fifth at Boundary Park.
According to Andy Liddell, tomorrow’s visitors hold a genuine chance of securing back-to-back promotions.
The Athletic winger has gained the inside track from his good friend and ex-Wigan team-mate Paul Mitchell, who has been with MK Dons for the past three years.
Liddell revealed: “Paul won’t be playing because he’s out on loan, but he told me they are a very strong side.
“They are full of pace and power, they hit you quickly on the break and they will be very hard to play against.
“Their away record is unbelievable and this season they have already won at Huddersfield, who invested heavily over the summer.
“Coming here will be tough for MK Dons because we are flying at the moment, but they must reckon they can beat anyone.
“You don’t win so many away games without being organised, and if they are looking to play on the break we’ll need to be careful.
“As usual we’ll take the game to the opposition, but you can be at your most vulnerable when you are attacking.
“MK Dons are an ambitious club and, because of their financial backing, they are probably going to be challenging for another promotion.
“You usually find the clubs with the most spending power sign the better players, and in the end the table reflects that.
“Of the three sides who came up automatically last season, you would expect two of them to be aiming very high.
“No disrespect to Hereford, but it isn’t just about survival for clubs with substantial backing like Peterborough and MK Dons.”
Despite the threat of di Matteo’s visiting side, Liddell (35) has every faith in Athletic’s ability to stay top.
He said: “We’ve won our first two home games, and then at Tranmere last week we dug in and battled for the points.
“To beat them 1-0 was an excellent result and I would take the same against MK Dons, that’s for sure.
“We started playing good football when we got Chris Taylor on the ball – that’s important at the moment because he’s playing out of his skin.
“I’m expecting another good game of football, although any sort of win would do for me.”
MK Dons are fresh from a 3-0 home success against Yeovil in which midfield man Peter Leven scored twice.
Former Italy, Lazio and Chelsea star di Matteo – in his first management post – is working mainly with the players Ince left behind after lifting the League Two title with 97 points.
They include striker Aaron Wilbraham, who had a loan spell with Athletic four years ago, and very highly-rated young forward Sam Baldock.
The Dons’ only away defeats of the last calendar year were at Wrexham in January and Leicester on the first day of this season.
