Liam Manning revealed he was excited by what he saw from his new MK Dons side despite their 2-1 defeat at home to Sunderland.

Goals either side of half-time from Sunderland pair Ross Stewart and Elliot Embleton were enough for the Black Cats to take all three points, despite Tottenham loanee Troy Parrott’s reply in Manning’s first game as head coach.

Sunderland missed a penalty five minutes from time when Andrew Fisher saved Lynden Gooch’s effort and Lee Johnson’s side held on to make it two wins from two in Sky Bet League One.

“Looking at the bigger picture I am really excited by a lot of the things I saw today,” said Manning.

“We had good control of large parts of the game and created lots of chances, but what we can’t do is switch off.

“I have not taken training yet so the guys don’t have an idea of what I want, so that is difficult for them.

“I am hugely proud of how they played and applied themselves so overall we are disappointed to lose but there are lots of positives to take.

“We spoke at half-time about playing with a bit more tempo and intensity and we saw that in the second half, at times we suffocated them.

“Having spent two days with them I can see that they are a terrific group of guys, no egos and everyone willing to work and learn so as a coaching staff coming in it is really exciting.”

Sloppy Dons defending allowed frontman Stewart to poke home in the 42nd minute before Embleton’s chip doubled the lead after 52 minutes.

Parrott’s left-footed shot found the bottom corner four minutes later before Fisher saved from Gooch after Harry Darling’s trip on Stewart.

Johnson said: “There is a lot to take in from that one and I am probably going to have to watch it three of four times to be honest.

“We have had a big turnaround in the squad and we have got players making their debuts and learning about how to cope.

“We have played a side that can drain you psychologically, but apart from one great save we were not troubled hugely.

“The lads have shown a great attitude and I have been very impressed with them all summer and that effort is starting to bear fruit now.

“Our supporters got us through it today, they kept us honest when we needed to apply pressure and dragged us up when we needed it.

“It was a tough game and there are not going to be many easy games, but we can make it easier for ourselves by taking our chances and managing the game better.”