Darren Ferguson feels his side will have to battle their way to victories on the road this season.
Andy Williams’ goal sealed a 1-0 Boxing Day victory at Notts County, with Ferguson praising the way his side fought for three points.
He said: “It was a real battle, and we’d expect nothing else really. We just had to get a battling win, which it was.
“It was a clean sheet again, which was really important. It was about winning the headers and second balls, and we had to really dig it out. We did the horrible bits well, and we’re going to get a lot of that at this time of the year as pitches start to turn and get heavy.
“They threw everything at us. I thought my three centre-halves – Mathieu Baudry, Andy Butler and Joe Wright – were very good.”
Williams scored his second goal since returning from injury, and his fourth in seven matches.
Ferguson added: “He has taken it well – the front two worked so hard, but as a team they played well.
“They clean sheets are key, too. We know we’ve not had enough, but have to ensure we still have the fluency going forward.”
Ferguson confirmed Baudry came off at half-time having suffered from illness before the match, while Tommy Rowe was replaced as a precaution with a possible hamstring injury.