Newly appointed MK Dons boss Paul Warne felt his team showed promising signs after a 0-0 draw with Newport County.
Warne’s new side had some opportunities but neither they nor the club from South Wales could find the decisive touch in a scrappy game at Stadium MK.
The draw means that both teams are on a run of six games without a win in Sky Bet League Two.
Warne had taken over at MK Dons on Tuesday, revealing that he had only had one training session with his new players before the Good Friday clash, and he felt the team did well to take on a new swathe of instructions quickly.
He said: “I was really pleased with a lot. We only had the lads in for one day and one training session and they had a lot of information to take on.
“For all the information they had to take on, plus the nervous energy for playing for a different manager that’s never nice, I thought the lads did really well. They kept a clean sheet. I thought the only chance we really conceded was a header from a set-piece early on.
“I thought the lads gave a good account of themselves. It’s just disappointing we didn’t get a goal in the second half, which would’ve been the icing on the cake.
“The finishing edge at the top end of the pitch is the hardest thing and, in fairness, don’t get away from the fact Newport defended really well.
“There was a real intent about the play and you could see the lads really wanted to win.”
Newport boss Nelson Jardim was content to get a point, though he admitted disappointment not to secure a win that would have confirmed mathematical safety in the fourth tier.
He said: “When you get a point away from home on a pitch like this, it’s always positive, especially in this league. But also stopping the losing run, also massive.
“We were hoping to get the job done today, but we still have to wait for Monday and hopefully, in front of our fans in our home, we can get this done.
“As a coach, we can only focus on what we can control, which is keeping the boys focused, trying to get the best out of them and making sure they perform well.
“Unfortunately it didn’t happen in the last game when we conceded that goal but today they’ve shown those moments hopefully have gone and when we needed to be a proper team today, I think we’ve seen that. It’s a positive today to get a point here and we can look forward to Monday positively.”
