MK boss on why his side can’t be too cocky ahead of Charlton Athletic test

Milton Keynes head coach Liam Manning has talked about why his side must not get carried away with their fine form ahead of tonight’s League One match at Charlton Athletic.

The visitors have taken 14 points in an unbeaten run of six matches – winning four of those. And their haul of 22 points in 2022 is the joint highest in England’s top four divisions along with Bolton, Rotherham and Forest Green Rovers.

“It’s an interesting one with confidence on the spectrum,” said Manning. “You have to keep that sweet spot. You have to take momentum from good performances and good results, but it only has to shift too far to the higher end and can quickly come back and teach you a lesson.

“Confidence is a great example of when we say not to get too high or too low. If you take your eye off it or think you’ve cracked it then you’re in big trouble and get a wake-up call.

“Both sides will look slightly different [from when they played in the EFL Trophy]. There is not huge amounts we can take from that game. It’s a big club, big history and a big following. I keep saying it, but it’s another extremely difficult game we’re going into. It’s controlling what we can and focusing on what we can, all the preparation we do going into the game.”

Mo Eisa and former Palace striker Connor Wickham scored in MK’s 2-1 win at Sunderland at the weekend.

“The lads were terrific,” said Manning. “Credit to the guys in terms of executing it. We can create lots of plans and have ideas how the game looks but then it takes the guys showing real disciplined, intensity and focus to execute it.

“We looked really dangerous on the counter and scored a couple of goals.”