AFC Wimbledon manager Johnnie Jackson feels he is reaping the benefits of keeping faith with his players after they continued their fine recent home form with a 4-0 win over Swindon.
The Dons have now won their last six games at Plough Lane, scoring 22 goals in the process, and that run has lifted them up to seventh in League Two and earned them a place in the third round of the FA Cup.
It is quite a turnaround for a team who struggled for results on their own patch in the previous two seasons, but Jackson believes his players always had it in them to go on such a streak.
He said: “I got asked a lot about the home form, but my answer always was, ‘I think we’re playing well’.
“It’s just the results weren’t quite coming and you can do two things – you can try and change what you’re doing or you can believe in what you’re doing, you continue to put the level of performance in and the results will naturally come, and that’s what we’ve done.
“We carried on the work that we’re doing, we doubled down, we worked harder and the lads believe in themselves.
“We spoke a lot about trying to start fast, building on the momentum that we’ve created here.
“Going into the game, we’d won five on the bounce here and it’s become a really difficult place for opponents.
“We wanted to make it uncomfortable for Swindon in the opening exchanges.”
Flying out of the traps brought reward for Wimbledon after just six minutes when Omar Bugiel turned in Joe Lewis’ cross from close range.
The hosts really pressed on after doubling their lead in the 59th minute through a stunning long-range strike into the top corner by Armani Little.
Dons top-scorer Ali Al-Hamadi then took advantage of the widening gaps in Swindon’s defence by producing two clinical finishes in the closing stages.
Swindon boss Michael Flynn lamented his side’s frailty at the back, saying: “We were very poor defensively and I don’t mean just the defenders.
“We’ve conceded 40 goals now in the league, which is way too much – some teams will go through the season probably conceding that many.
“We’ve got to improve and I’ve got to improve in that area, which is what I’ll be looking to do.
“The second goal, they don’t even sense there’s danger from the free-kick, everybody’s switched off.
“The first goal shouldn’t have been allowed because there were two down with a head injury for over 10-15 seconds and the fourth official was telling the referee.
“It’s a diabolical decision for him to play on there because it’s the safety of the players, but we weren’t good enough today and that was only one goal.”
Leverkusen were 'bullied' early on in Heidenheim win, says Alonso
Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso was critical of his team's poor start in their 5-2 comeback victory over Heidenheim on Saturday.
The current Bundesliga champions went two goals down inside the opening 21 minutes at the BayArena, before battling back to hammer their visitors.
The teams went in level at half-time, while Patrik Schick completed a hat-trick in the second half to secure their second victory in seven league games.
"The first 20 minutes were hard, hard on the pitch and hard mentally," Alonso told a press conference.
"They bullied us in midfield. We could not find any good situations.
"We then managed to find better solutions after the break, and we were more stable. That was the key to the better second half."
Leverkusen are fourth in the Bundesliga, nine points behind league leaders Bayern Munich. They improved significantly after Heidenheim forward Marvin Pieringer was taken off injured in the 28th minute, having suffered due to his pace prior to that.
"We had a bit of a doubt at the start, it was too hectic, we were too nervous," he added.
"We could relax a bit during the break, and then we saw a much better second half, with more control and more stability. Mentally, we were much better."
Aside from their poor start, Alonso singled out Schick in particular for praise after the game, with his perfect hat-trick having helped win the match for the hosts.
Schick has now scored 3+ goals in a Bundesliga game on three occasions for Leverkusen - only Ulf Kirsten (seven) has done so more times for the club.
"It was a perfect hat-trick. It is so important for a striker to get into this rhythm, to have that feeling and with us having a lot of matches during this time," said Alonso.
Arsenal's improved form after Odegaard's return 'not a coincidence', says Arteta
Mikel Arteta insisted it was "not a coincidence" that Martin Odegaard's presence led Arsenal to a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in one of their best performances of the season.
Arsenal's win was their 2,000th in English top-flight history, making them just the second side to reach this milestone after Liverpool (2,068).
Odegaard had been sidelined through injury since September with an ankle injury sustained while on international duty with Norway.
He returned to the starting line-up last time out against Chelsea and now has two assists from two since his return after setting up Bukayo Saka for the opener against Forest.
Arsenal ran out comfortable winners after Thomas Partey and Ethan Nwaneri extended their lead and Arteta is confident the influence of his captain helped.
"It's not a coincidence. The team flows in a different way when [Odegaard] is playing," he told BBC MOTD.
"I think we started really well. The sense I was getting in the last 48 hours after the international break, the boys coming together and were all at it.
"It was good to see the impact of the substitutes [Thomas Partey - goal; Ethan Nwaneri - goal; Raheem Sterling - assist]. Everyone has to feel important. It was a good afternoon."
Partey grabbed Arsenal's second just seven minutes after entering the pitch, curling into the left corner from outside the box following Arteta's half-time swap for Jorginho.
Four of Partey's seven Premier League goals have come from outside the box. Of all Arsenal players to score more than five goals in the competition, he’s the only one to net more than half from outside the box.
Arteta had particular praise for fellow goalscorer Nwaneri, who, at 17 years and 247 days, became Arsenal’s second youngest-ever Premier League goalscorer, behind only Cesc Fabregas in August 2004 (17y 113d).
"He is the second youngest [Premier League goalscorer] in our history. That's a story in itself. He's brave. You see the reaction of fans, and they were singing 'he's one of our own'," added the Arsenal boss.
"I think we have to put brick by brick and make sure the cement doesn't get dry. Hopefully, we can build a beautiful thing with him."
Arsenal outplayed their opponents, leading them on expected goals (xG) with a total of 1.4 compared to Forest's 0.4 xG.
"On a day like this, you need to be solid defensively and take your chances. Ultimately it was not good enough, and it was three relatively easy goals for them," James Ward-Prowse told Sky Sports.
"We are going to have to improve our defensive structure."
Hurzeler delighted by Brighton 'togetherness' in battling win
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler was in fighting mode at full-time as he praised the Seagulls' "togetherness" in their 2-1 win away at Bournemouth.
Hurzeler's charges signed off for the international break with a 2-1 home victory over defending champions Manchester City, and they mirrored the scoreline at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday thanks to Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma.
Despite his expansive and high-wire tactical approach receiving plenty of praise so far this season, it was Brighton's mental strength that caught the eye late on, after being reduced to ten players in the 59th minute through Carlos Baleba's red card.
It set up a nervy finale for the visitors, which included a 93rd-minute consolation goal from David Brooks and Antoine Semenyo smacking the bar, but the grit to get the result over the line pleased the Brighton manager.
"We have to see the performance from different viewpoints," he told Sky Sports.
"From one side of things, it was not the best football game from ourselves, but it was a good game to prove our togetherness, to show we can suffer together and defend together - that's why I'm proud of my team.
"The other side is that we can play better football. In some moments, we were lucky, in some moments, Bournemouth were better. Of course, the red card changes the game for me. That's why I am proud. We can play better football.
"We also had really good moments, we tried to play our from the back even when the pressure was really high. That's why I was pleased with some moments, but not with the whole game."
Hurzeler was also left frustrated by Stuart Attwell's decision to dismiss Baleba for a second yellow card with the visitors 2-0 in front.
"It's a clear thing. It can't be a yellow card the second one, never ever," he added. "Hopefully the referee will look at this and make a decision, and they take back the yellow card, because honestly, that's never a yellow card."
Victory moves Brighton up to fifth in the Premier League table - their highest position since mid-October - with struggling Southampton next up for Hurzeler's side.
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