Graham Westley expressed his excitement ahead of Saturday’s match up with MK Dons following an uninterrupted week of training.

Boro’s last nine games have come in quick succession with matches on Saturdays and Tuesday and, while they picked up momentum with 12 points, Westley said the break has benefitted the players.

“It has been good for the team to have a break,” he said in a press conference today (Thursday).

One or two were carrying knocks and a few had played more games than bodies were ready for. [Bira] Dembele and [Curtis] Obeng have played a lot of football after not playing a lot of football. For them to have a breather was first class.

“This morning the first team looked outstanding; they were fresh, bright and the quality was excellent. I’m looking forward to Saturday and the players are do; that’s a good frame of mind to be in.”

The last time the teams met, Boro won 2-1 to knock Karl Robinson’s side out of the Johnston Paint Trophy. Westley said his team can take confidence from that result but that no two games are the same.

“Obviously, we’ll look back to the fixture and take confidence that we have done the job against broadly same personnel but no two games are the same,” he said.

“Beating them at home in the JPT doesn’t give us the right to win so we start from scratch and try to win every inch on offer on the day. The points are there for the winner and we intend to be the winner.”