Liam Manning is making sure his MK Dons' players don't get too carried away despite being third in the table at the midway point of the season.
The Black Cats welcome Dons to the Stadium of Light this weekend knowing a win would move them above their promotion rivals and keep up the heat on the top two.
Sunderland have lost three of their last four outings and came away from AFC Wimbledon with a point in Alex Neil's first game in charge.
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus must now answer further Sunderland questions if he's to get fans back on side
The visitors this weekend have been one of the surprise packages this season, but head coach Manning is taking it game by game.
“I don't want us to focus on the end of this season, I want us to focus week by week and enjoy the journey,” he told MK Dons official website.
“Credit to the group, they’ve worked really hard to get us in a good spot. Now it’s about making sure we’re not getting too high not getting too low and not getting carried away with ourselves.
“We need to turn up week in, week out and do what is required and that always starts with earning the right to play.”
Dons have conceded just five goals, keeping five clean sheets in ten games, a statistic which has been a vital part of their great form since the turn of the year.
“Early on, when we first joined, we were scoring lots of goals but also giving up lots of chances and goals,” Manning added.
“When you look at the progress the group's made out of possession, we've got a really good platform going into games.
“We don't give up too many chances and when you do that you always have a chance to pick something up from the game.”
