Chesterfield's next opponents MK Dons threadbare in one position ahead of big clash
Chesterfield’s next opponents MK Dons are threadbare in one position ahead of this Saturday’s clash.
Paul Warne’s side were labelled the favourites for the League Two title by the bookies before a ball had even been kicked this season. And you could see why with Warne’s promotion record at both Rotherham United and Derby County, as well as some of the players they have signed, with the likes of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Aaron Collins and Callum Paterson all joining.
They have got off to a steady start with three wins, two draws and two defeats leaving them in ninth position, two points and two places below Town. MK were 3-0 down at home to Grimsby Town on Saturday after just 29 minutes, but they did manage to claw it back to 2-3 in the second-half despite being down to 10-men.
Left-back Jon Mellish, 27, who signed on a season-loan from Wigan Athletic last month, was shown a straight red card on 36 minutes and will now miss the next three matches, starting this weekend against Chesterfield. His suspension means MK will have no recognised natural left-back when they visit the SMH Group Stadium.
Warne said: “It was one of my lowest points in my managerial career when I was standing there at 3-0 down and a player coming off before half-time. You are thinking ‘wow.’ It is a problem (Mellish being suspended), We play Chesterfield next, who are on the back of two defeats like us, so it is a managerial ‘must-win’ –that will be a good build-up. We will have to work out a way to cause them problems.”
He joked: "I have got 23 centre mids and luckily they are all available and my one left-back gets suspended so it is a bit of a problem but we will address it like we always do.”
Interestingly, Warne said that his side have not turned up in the first-half of the last two matches, both ending in defeat, so that could be something Chesterfield look to exploit. Warne took the blame for the first-half against Grimsby, explaining his thinking behind playing a 4-4-2 formation, which he admitted did not work.
MK beat the Spireites twice last season, winning 3-0 at home and 2-1 away.