Sam Ricketts: MK Dons have advantage over Shrewsbury Town

The Dons’ curtain-raiser against Bury was cancelled due to the Shakers’ financial problems, meaning they begin their return to the third tier against Town at Stadium MK.

The Shrews boss, whose side began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth, believes Dons hold an advantage having been able to watch Salop beat Pompey.

“It puts us a bit of a disadvantage as I’m sure they would have had someone watching our game while we haven’t been able to watch them,” Ricketts said.

“They are starting a week later but they will be excited, their first game after getting promoted and they are a good team.

Ricketts added: “I think they’ve got as much chance as anyone else to be there or there abouts. They have recruited well. They have financial backing to do that.

“There are an awful lot of teams in this league who will speculate. Fleetwood have spent money on Ched Evans. (There’s) Coventry, Portsmouth, Ipswich, Rotherham, Blackpool and not forgetting Sunderland Peterborough – there’s an awful lot of clubs spending money.”