MK Dons boss Karl Robinson defends Colchester United's John Ward

Robinson (left) inflicted Ward's second home league defeat of the season

MK Dons boss Karl Robinson has leapt to the defence of Colchester United manager John Ward following his side's 5-1 win on Saturday.

Robinson was bewildered by how sections of the U's support expressed their displeasure with the result.

"Their fans were disgraceful with some of the things they were shouting at their manager at the end," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"He's doing unbelievably here with a budget people don't really know about."

Robinson added: "He gets an awful lot of stick. I've watched them play three or four games this year and for 30 or 40 minutes against us they were a very good team."

Ward admitted his side had "disappointed" the home fans, but by no means had "let them down".

"I've got a sign up in the dressing room which says 'Win without boasting. Lose without excuses'," he told BBC Essex.

"What's happened over the 90 minutes is MK Dons have taken their chances better than we have.

"It's hard for me to criticise these boys because they work exceptionally hard for the club, the team and the supporters. I don't think we've let them down, I think we've disappointed them."

Meanwhile, Robinson praised the professionalism of striker Dean Bowditch, who followed up by stepping off the bench to supply two assists.

The 25-year-old has been on the fringes since being left out of the squad to face Walsall earlier in the month.

"Bowds is somebody who started on fire at the beginning of the season and put so much pressure on himself to keep scoring goals and it wasn't to be," said the Dons boss.

"He looked tense. He was ill, so I didn't drop him. He's waited for his chance, scored two last week and set two up against Colchester.

"I've got tremendous headache problems and I've got a tremendous squad."