Boss Karl Robinson was proud of the way his side battled their way through to a point in an abrasive 90 minutes against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
“You’re not always going to get a pretty game and we expected things today which would stifle our fluidity” he told iFollow. “We were a bit patient and kept the ball moving but we didn’t hit the heights we can reach because we were playing a side full of Championship players; Garath McCleary, Vokes, Tafazolli.
“Nobody can say we lack fight though. We stood toe to toe with one of the most physical teams in the league and won those contests, in my view, and had the better chances. So don’t say we can’t play another way or that our players don’t care or put their bodies on the line. When we do that we can’t always be our glittering self. Maybe we weren’t clinical enough or maybe in the final third we let ourselves down at times, but when it came to desire we have got it.
“We are not soft, not nice kids who just turn up and want to play football. There is another edge to us and if you want to come and test that then that’s not a problem because we will stand up for ourselves this year.
“I made changes hoping we could find a moment of magic but nobody came off that pitch because of a lack of effort. I was worried by their set piece in the last minute but quite comfortable other than that. Maybe our players won’t get the credit they deserve because of how many times the game got stopped, but we stood up for ourselves and I’m proud of all of them for that.”
See the full interview plus extended highlights in iFollow.