League One roundup: MK Dons and ex-Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Preston striker haunts old side, former-Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, and Leeds boss offered Black Cats deal and manager of Portsmouth’s rivals makes surprise Bolton admission
Ex-Sunderland striker Connor Wickham believed he was always ‘going to score’ – after condemning his former side to their fourth defeat in five games.
The ex-Crystal Palace man returned to the Stadium of Light with MK Dons yesterday, following his January move from Preston.
And he came back to haunt his old side, by netting the Dons’ second in a 2-1 success – making Alex Neil’s first home game in charge of the Black Cats a miserable occasion.
He told MK Dons’ website: ‘I've had two games back-to-back of playing teams who have played a massive part in my career, but as I said in my presser before the weekend, it was about getting three points.
‘It was nice to get a good reception from the fans, but ultimately we're on track for a good end to the season, so it's a massive three points to us and I'm buzzing.
‘When you get into those positions, you have to focus and there are probably a million things that are going on and it seems as though it's slowing down.
‘I just composed myself and heard the crowd anticipate what was going to happen when I was going through one-v-one, but I knew I was going to score.
‘I was confident I was going to finish it and as soon as it went past the goalkeeper there was no-one who was going to stop it.’
Elsewhere, details have emerged regarding Sunderland’s hunt of Lee Johnson’s successor.
Although Neil was eventually handed the job earlier this month, it’s been revealed by The Sun that Roy Keane, Grant McCann and Neil Warnock were all offered contracts until the end of the season.
The former Manchester United legend had been heavily linked with a return to the club he guided to the Premier League in 2007, but he turned down the chance due to the short-term nature of the deal, according to reports.
Finally, Ian Evatt has made a surprise admission following Bolton’s 4-0 rout over AFC Wimbledon.
Despite the impressive scoreline, the Trotters head coach believes his side could have performed better.
He told The Bolton News: ‘Yeah, I am miserable and I don’t really smile and I always want more, of course.
‘There is more to come, and I am frustrated a bit today in the second half.
‘I am a bit underwhelmed and it shows you where we are at when we have won 4-0 at home and I feel like we could have been better there, we could have done better and we could have scored more.
‘But I have high expectations, high standards and the players will live up to that. There is a lot of work to be done and it is still a very new team.’
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