IT was not the definitive statement we had all hoped for, but there was enough in this performance to suggest Wanderers will be just fine after the transfer window.

Pressure had piled on the outcome at stadium:mk as the deadline-day departure of Zach Clough and the failure to re-sign Sammy Ameobi left everyone wondering whether Phil Parkinson’s side could keep up the pace.

Four new signings took the pitch and, at times, the Whites looked understandably disjointed as they mixed old with new.

But in the end, a point felt hard-earned. Wanderers had thrown away a lead given to them by Jay Spearing but held on to a point with the kind of doggedness they were showing a lot until recently.

To use a phrase often quoted by managers, the Whites ‘took a point and moved on.’ There is no shame in that away from home.

What impact injuries to Andy Taylor – who withdrew minutes before kick-off – and Lawrie Wilson – who limped off to leave his side with 10 men before the end – remains to be seen.

Parkinson needs to get his squad back on the training ground for a prolonged spell and try to avoid the teething troubles he experienced when integrating five new players in the summer window.

Filipe Morais and Chris Long were handed their first starts and both acquitted themselves well.

Ex-Bradford winger Morais took the left-sided slot in attack vacated by Clough and gave the team a slightly different dimension. Happy to switch wings but never straying too far from the touchline, the 31-year-old’s delivery was consistently good, even if he lasted only an hour.

Long should have marked his debut with a goal – heading wide midway through the first half after Morais had whipped in a cross from the right. The young striker was always willing to get involved in the penalty box, however, and his work-rate remained high throughout.

The two second-half subs, Viv Solomon-Otabor and Adam Le Fondre, entered the game with MK Dons well on top.

We saw a few tricks from the on-loan Birmingham winger Solomon, who had been brought on to exploit space in an increasingly-open match. But by the time Le Fondre came on for his long-awaited return in a Bolton shirt, Wilson’s departure left Wanderers with 10 men and the striker was forced to fill in as an auxiliary full-back to chip in with the defensive effort.

MK Dons had scored nine goals in their previous two games, four of which came from powerful midfielder Chuks Aneke. Wanderers did an effective job to neutralise him – and his frustrations boiled over with a couple of elbows that could, on another day, have warranted a red card.

Perhaps the close attention paid to Aneke allowed more space to new Dons loan signing Harvey Barnes, as the Leicester City youngster ran the show in the latter stages.

The first half had been a very even affair. Ed Upson came closest to opening the scoring with a curling free kick which bounced on top of Ben Alnwick’s net but otherwise it was relatively comfortable.

The game was ambling towards half time when Wanderers edged ahead in surprising fashion. Jay Spearing’s free kick from the left touchline whizzed through a sea of bodies and tucked itself inside the far post.

MK’s response was good after the break. But their equaliser came gift-wrapped after Wanderers were guilty of over-playing near their own penalty box.

Max Clayton, on for Morais, should have cleared after Dean Moxey, in for Andy Taylor, cushioned a header back in his path. Instead, Paul Downing nipped in and his cross eventually found its way to Keiran Agard, who drilled the ball home from the edge of the area.

Both sides went for the win. Parkinson briefly put two players through the middle, giving the increasingly isolated Gary Madine a bit of support in the shape of Le Fondre. Wilson’s injury then wrecked his best-laid plans.

The Whites spent the last 10 minutes defending their own penalty box with 10 men and the home crowd roaring for their team to attack. Mark Beevers and David Wheater were solid, Alnwick also confident under a flurry of late crosses.

Spearing became an emergency right-back and somehow had a chance to win the game when he surged into the penalty box, bringing a decent save out of David Martin with an angled effort.

David Coote’s full-time whistle was a relief in the end. But once results from elsewhere started to filter in – not least Scunthorpe United’s defeat – the soft manner in which the equaliser was conceded started to bite harder.

Parkinson now has some big decisions to make ahead of this weekend’s home game against Walsall. If Wilson’s hamstring injury is as bad as feared, there is no obvious right-back solution within the squad.

Lewis Buxton’s fitness has been unreliable, Derik Osede seems to need some convincing he can play on the right side of defence and Josh Vela is arguably too important to move from his number 10 role these days.

Up to the equaliser, Moxey’s return to the team had been a success. His confidence looked damaged in the final few minutes but a player of his experience should be able to shake that off.

How quickly Parkinson can bring his new signings up to speed may be the telling factor in whether home fans see a ‘different’ Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

As a test drive, this performance was not without its flaws. Madine had little support, possession was lost too easily in midfield at times and youngster Clayton may be called in for more defensive practice.

But it was an improvement on the Charlton and Swindon defeats, and there were positive aspects for those who wish to see them.

Parkinson does not have much time to reinvent his team in the post-Zach Clough era but this was a satisfactory start.