MK Dons’ Interim Head Coach Ben Gladwin said he was pleased and relieved to see his side beat Morecambe.
The Dons’ caretaker won for the first time after stepping into Scott Lindsey’s shoes, with his side initially falling behind to Lee Angol’s opener before Luke Offord and Danilo Orsi goals turned the game in their favour.
Gladwin admitted he was disappointed to concede first, but said there was a sense of relief the team could turn things around to grab a first win in seven outings.
He said, “I went in at half-time a little bit grumpy in all honesty because we played so well until the penalty happened. I probably misread the situation because I thought the players weren’t very energised and I was, even when we were losing, but it’s just that anxiety. When you lose that many games in a row, it’s normal.
“I think relief is the overriding feeling and gratitude on my part for everybody involved. Obviously, I’m pleased just to get the win.”
Gladwin elaborated further that the game was a challenging one but felt the team demonstrated positive qualities to build on.
He said, “We’ve overcome a lot today. We’ve shown we can come from behind and shown so many things. We’ll review it, like every game, to see what we did well and not so well then try to learn and improve from it.”
The result was the Dons’ first win in seven games, and Gladwin said he was pleased with the base performance alongside the victory.
He said, “The performance is the most important thing to me. We won, which for everyone externally and myself, is important, but it’s the way we did it that made me really proud because I know how to judge that performance. I know how to review it say which were the good and bad bits. The fact they took on bits of information us as a coaching staff gave and they implemented them so well makes it much easier for us to review and improve for next week.”
The team had five alterations from a midweek defeat at Accrington Stanley, with Gladwin saying a challenge was narrowing down who to pick.
He said, “We’ve got a lot of players and unfortunately, you’re spoiled for choice. It makes it so hard for coaching staff to pick a team and it’s really tough to leave players out because you form a connection with everybody. That’s probably been the toughest part of the job to be honest but we found a freshness and a good solution.
“Everybody will play their part and everybody is so important.”
After two games without having a shot on target, Gladwin said he felt pleased the team showed a more positive side.
He said, “We set the players a target of how many shots we wanted them to have in the first 15 minutes – probably slightly unrealistic but it’s like a sign of the mentality we wanted to show to step forward, be aggressive and show our teeth a lot. Teams have come after us a lot and we’ve probably not hurt them as much as we should’ve. I think we got the balance good today and I’m really proud.”