Future is bright, insists boss

ATHLETIC boss Paul Dickov was disappointed to end the npower League One season on a losing note.

The Scot called for his players to avoid the 'winding down for the summer' syndrome, but admitted they did not follow his orders for chunks of the match.

"We told them not to have that mindset, but for the first 25 minutes and some of the second half it had the end of season feel to it," said Dickov.

"We will have to learn from it. When we don't do the right things correctly, we look like an average side.

"Both of MK Dons' goals were mistakes by ourselves. Carl Winchester will learn from the first one, when he deflected it to their player.

"The second has come right off Aidy White's boot after they had the space in which to operate.

"There were still plenty of positives, particularly a great strike from Carl.

"MK Dons are a good side and you can never relax because they are a great counter-attacking team, so the danger is always there."

Dickov played for the last 16 minutes of the match after replacing Winchester, who tired in the second half.

During his lively cameo – the last appearance of his playing career – he produced a couple of telling passes which, on another day, could have easily been assists had someone got a foot or head to the ball.

Dickov added: "It was nice to get on at the end. I got in a couple of crosses but they did not lead to a goal, sadly.

"For me, it is not about my appearance, it is about the other players, the fans and the football club."

The manager is keen to look ahead to the next campaign.

"Our future is bright, there is no doubt about that," he said.

"We have a lot of good, young players who are coming through.

"Now we must push on and aim high next season."