Danny Cowley has stated that MK Dons are the best team he can remember in League Two after his Colchester United side were swept aside by the promotion favourites.

Paul Warne’s side took another big step towards a return to League One with victory over the Essex side, with a first-half own goal from Matt Macey, initially credited to Aaron Collins, handing the hosts their fourth straight victory and taking their unbeaten streak across all competitions to 15 matches.

Cowley Hands Dons Flowers

Cowley, who has seen previous success in League Two with Lincoln City after guiding the Imps to the fourth-tier title in 2019, believed that his side lacked a final flourish to see of a Milton Keynes side he was glowing with praise for.

Speaking to the Daily Gazette after the game in Buckinghamshire, the former Huddersfield Town boss said:

“It was just technical quality in the transition moment in the first half and in the second half, we had total dominance and were camped in their half.

“I’ve lived League Two a long time and they’re probably the best team that I can remember in League Two and we camped in their half, totally dominated the ball and just lacked that bit.

“It was a balance really. At times we needed to upgrade the chance, at times we needed to put more crosses in the box and more numbers in the box.

“We can definitely be critical of ourselves in those areas but in terms of the performance, up until the last bit I thought we did a lot of good things.

“[On MK Dons] They have outstanding players. Anyone that lives these levels knows that they are not League Two players.

“They will have finance that’s probably five times ours, that’s just the truth and still it’s not easy by the way – I’m not discrediting MK Dons because it’s not how much money you have, it’s what you do with the money and Paul Warne has got a really good squad, full of good players.”

Defeat leaves Colchester six points adrift of the playoff places having played the same number of games as seventh-placed Grimsby Town, but Cowley’s side will have to handle their greatest hurdle yet in trying to reel in the Mariners with an away trip to league leaders Bromley.

Dons Deserving Of Respect?

As Danny Cowley pointed out in his post-match interview, Milton Keynes Dons have one of League Two’s highest wage budgets and that rises high above many of the other teams in the division, but they have used their resources effectively.

Time and time again we have seen teams in this division have big wage budgets and fail to deliver on the pitch, with Bradford City‘s failures up until recently probably the most pertinent example of money going to waste.

Even in the final days of Pete Winkleman’s tenure in charge of the club, his team fell foul of that exact issue, with heavy investment in players like Salford City‘s Callum Hendry and Accrington Stanley‘s Tommy Leigh in the summer of last season failing to translate on the pitch and saw both Mike Williamson and Scott Lindsey sacked on their way to a 19th place finish.

The ownership group at Stadium: MK have done well to invest their resources into recruiting an excellent manager in Paul Warne and funded the squad he needs to push the club out of the division, getting some help with player pull through their head coach’s previous experience at Derby County.

Now, his guidance and squad depth have put the club back on the right track to League One, and barring a late-season collapse, should be able to get themselves over the line with three or four more wins.

Of course, a title is not off the cards just yet, with their April match at home to Bromley perhaps proving pivotal as to who will be crowned champions of League Two come the end of the campaign.