Warne happy squad depth paying off for MK Dons

MK Dons boss Paul Warne says he is proud of the squad depth he has achieved since taking charge last April after his side moved back into the automatic promotion places in League Two.

Warne's side are unbeaten in nine games and have only lost one of their last 14 despite injuries to key players.

Top-scorer Callum Paterson and experienced winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing were among those who missed Monday's game at Walsall, which the Dons won 2-0.

"I do have a good squad - they're all first-team players, they're not kids. These are all proper senior pros and with that comes an expectation, with that comes they all want to play," Warne told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"They always get respected, the players who aren't in the team, and they need to be because they're going to get called upon all the time."

Warne confirmed, however, that midfielder Jay Matete will not play again this season following hamstring surgery.

Matete has only made six appearances and had to go off after 37 minutes in his most recent one, last week's goalless draw with Crawley Town.

"It's sad because in the Crawley game he looked like the player we thought we'd signed," said Warne.

"When you sign players you always want to put them in, but you don't want to put them in when they're not ready because then they look rubbish and can start convincing themselves they're not as good as they thought they were.

"We didn't rush him in and then he looked a lot more like it so it's a massive blow for him. But injuries happen all the time, we're not the only time to have injuries."

The win over Walsall lifted the Dons to third place, four points behind leaders Bromley, and they will leapfrog Cambridge United into second if they win on Saturday.

"Everyone goes on about stats and xG and possession - all those things bore me to tears. The only thing I like is shots on target inside both boxes - I don't think we conceded one and we had a few," Warne added.

"To play on a Monday night was a bit strange but I said to the lads before the game, 'You can't drop in the league, no-one else is playing - if you win, it's pure ascendancy and that's a nice feeling'."