Wimbledon v Doncaster Rovers: League Cup defeat is a kick up the backside for Rovers

The positives of Rovers’ first victory of the season were wiped out on Tuesday by a 3-0 defeat to Lincoln City. McSheffrey’s men have only conceded once in their opening two League Two games, despite being down to ten men for a little over half of their game at Bradford City.

Sad though it is to say, if ever there was a day to get those lessons it was League Cup first-round day, and the manager is hoping to see the right reaction at Wimbledon this afternoon.

“Sometimes life gives you a kick up the backside,” he said. “That’s all it was – some reminders.

“We went through things on the video and just had a really good constructive meeting to clear it. We got to the bottom of a few things.

“We were pretty good defensively in the previous games so we hope it’s just a blip that we’ve nipped in the bud.”

Like Doncaster, Wimbledon were relegated from League One last season but McSheffrey has been impressed with the way they response under their new manager, his old England Under-20s and Coventry City team-mate Johnnie Jackson.

“They’ve recruited some experienced defenders, full-backs,” he said. “They’ve got some sharp attackers.

“It’s going to be a tough game, full of energy. They won their first home league game and then lost to the same opposition (Gillingham) in the cup.

“They’ve got strengths and weaknesses like everyone. We go there with a gameplan and we’ll try to impose ourselves.

“We know we’re going to have to be at our best to do that because they’re one of the contenders to do well this year.”