AFC Wimbledon head coach Mark Robinson wants improvement on ‘awful’ record against Milton Keynes

Mark Robinson says that neither he nor the AFC Wimbledon players need to be told what tonight’s clash against Milton Keynes means to the fans.

The Dons travel to the Stadium MK after the initial fixture, which was set to take place in October, was rescheduled due to Wimbledon players being called up for international duty.

The South Londoners have lost their previous two outings. They lost 3-0 at Oxford United in League One and were knocked out of the FA Cup third round by National League side Boreham Wood on Saturday.

When asked if tonight’s clash presented the perfect opportunity for the players to put the previous results behind them, Robinson told the South London Press: “Every game gives you the chance to get back on track. The reality is that we have lost one game in six in the league, and we have lost two games in seven – there are circumstances behind that as well, in terms of the break we had.

“I haven’t got to explain to the players what the game means to the fans, and no one has got to explain to me what the game means to the fans.

“Our record against Milton Keynes since we have been AFC Wimbledon is awful – we have won one game in the league in all the times we have played against them. It’s more important that, if we’re going to move forward as a football club, we need to have better records against all teams. My focus is for us to improve the results against any team where we have that sort of record.”

Wimbledon have only secured one victory – a 2-0 home win under Neal Ardley in 2017 –   against Milton Keynes since the two sides first met in the league in 2016. Last season’s 2-0 defeat at Plough Lane was the tipping point for Glyn Hodges to depart the club.

“I don’t know, and it doesn’t really matter,” said Robinson when asked about the record and why he believed the Dons have found it so difficult against Milton Keynes.  “All I know is that the record is poor, and I need to rectify it. I don’t know why it was there before, but it’s something that we desperately want to change.”

Tonight will be Robinson’s first game as AFC Wimbledon’s first-team head coach against Milton Keynes.

“What’s important to me is that we keep growing as a football club, find levels of consistency, and we go up the table,” said Robinson. “As we get better and better as a team and a club, any personal agendas become irrelevant, as the best way to prove anything is just by us growing and becoming better as a football club – it’s the most positive way to achieve anything.”