Houghton's Milton Keynes Preview

Jordan Houghton will be facing a former of team of his when Argyle meet Milton Keynes Dons at Home Park on Sunday.

The last time the sides met in PL2, things did not go swimmingly for Houghton, who was sent off as Argyle lost 5-0 on the last day of the 2021/22 season. However, things were much brighter when Argyle won 4-1 at Stadium MK earlier this season.

Since then, Dons have sacked Liam Manning and replaced him in the manager’s seat with Mark Jackson. Houghton is not expecting too much in the way of a different-looking Dons outfit, and says in his experience a turnover of personnel is commonplace at the club.

“There’s been a lot of change, but that’s not unusual for them,” said Jordan. “They chop and change every two or three years with managers or players. It’s a continuous cycle. The manager has just come in and is going to have his own ideas that he will try to implement, but it’s probably not going to be too dissimilar to start with. I can’t imagine he’s going to change too much too quickly this season.

“It will be quite similar to the game at their place in terms of personnel, maybe a bit more energy from them that comes with a new manager. They have something to prove, but so do we after the game here last season. I think it’s going to be an exciting game.”

For Argyle’s part, they begin 2023 as the Sky Bet League One leaders. Houghton pointed to the collective effort that has got the Pilgrims to that spot, and emphasised the need to continue that in order to maintain the position.

“Going into a New Year, hopefully we can carry on the good work that we have done through the whole year,” he said.

“It’s been a positive progression from the club itself. We’ve gone from being a solid League One side to being looked at as one of the big boys. That is testament to the staff’s work – and everyone at the club – and obviously the players, as we’ve put ourselves in the position where we are top of the league.

“Every game is going to have bits in it where we need to be resolute at the back, really defend as a team. The boys at the back will put in some good clearances, but the boys up top really work hard and help to stop the initial ball coming in, which a lot of people don’t see. They are the front of the train.

“There are going to points of games where we have to be like that, and points where we show our quality and play some nice exiting, attacking football like we know we can do.”