List of Milton Keynes Dons F.C. managers

Paul Ince, pictured in 2006, managed the club over two spells between 2007 and 2010.

The first Milton Keynes Dons F.C. manager was Stuart Murdoch, who had previously been manager of Wimbledon.[1] Murdoch only lasted three months into the 2004–05 season before being sacked[2] — his assistant, Jimmy Gilligan, managed the club for a month before Murdoch's replacement was revealed to be Danny Wilson.[2][3][4] Wilson managed to keep the team up during the 2004–05 season,[5] but failed to repeat this feat during 2005–06.[5] Following relegation,[5] Wilson was shown the door and replaced with Martin Allen.[6] After Allen's team fell at the play-offs,[5] he left to manage Leicester City.[7] Paul Ince was appointed manager for the 2007–08 season,[8] and proved to be a shrewd appointment as MK Dons won the League Two championship as well as the Football League Trophy.[5] Ince too left after only a season, to become manager of Blackburn Rovers.[9]

Former Chelsea player Roberto di Matteo was then appointed in July 2008, his personal first ever managerial position.[10][11] Di Matteo was the first, and so far only, foreign manager of the club. He left after a season to manage West Bromwich Albion.[12] Ince was reappointed in his stead on 3 July 2009.[13] Paul Ince resigned as manager on 16 April 2010, stating "a reduction in funds for next season was the reason behind his decision to leave", Karl Robinson was appointed as Caretaker Manager, although Ince remained with the club until the end of the 2009–10 season.

Karl Robinson (R) and head of coaching Gary Waddock (L), pictured in 2013. Robinson held the longest tenure of any MK Dons manager, in charge from 2010 through 2016.

Karl Robinson was appointed manager on 10 May 2010, having previously been the club's assistant manager under previous boss Paul Ince. At 29 years of age, he was the youngest manager in the Football League, and former England coach John Gorman was named his number two. He was also the youngest person to ever acquire a UEFA Pro Licence at the age of 29. At the end of the 2011–12 season Gorman retired and was replaced by former Luton Town player/manager Mick Harford. At the same time, ex-Arsenal and former England international Ian Wright was also enlisted in a part-time role to provide assistance with coaching duties.

In January 2013, Robinson turned down an offer to manage Blackpool, a well established Championship and former Premier League team, in favour of his continuing commitment and loyalty towards Milton Keynes Dons, something which endeared him to the fans of the club.[14] Robinson was linked to other former Premier League clubs including Birmingham City, Sheffield United and Leeds United, and eventually managed Charlton Athletic in 2016–18 after leaving Milton Keynes before moving on to Oxford United.

After Robinson's departure, Richie Barker acted as caretaker manager for just under six weeks before former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson announced his move to the club. Neilson was at the club for just over one year before he left by mutual consent in January 2018 after a disappointing run of one win in 11 league games.[15] Former England youth coach Dan Micciche took over as manager, lasting a spell of three months in the job before leaving, being temporarily replaced by his assistant Keith Millen.[16]

June 2018 saw the appointment of former Exeter City boss Paul Tisdale,[17] tasked with turning around the Dons after their relegation to League Two. Tisdale began his League Two campaign with a near-perfect month, gaining 16 points from a possible 18, conceding just two goals.[18] Tisdale led MK Dons to a third-place finish, gaining automatic promotion back to League One on the first attempt.[19]

Following a poor start to the 2019–20 season in which Milton Keynes Dons achieved only one point from a possible 27 - the worst run of results in the club's short history - Tisdale's contract with the club was mutually terminated on 2 November 2019 following a 1–3 home defeat to Tranmere Rovers.[20] The next day it was announced that MK Dons player Russell Martin would take on the managerial role with immediate effect,[21] and later announced his retirement as a player to focus on the role.[22]

On 1 August 2021, it was announced that Russell Martin had departed Stadiummk, to fill the vacant head coach position at EFL Championship outfit Swansea City A.F.C. agreeing terms on a 3-year deal to move to South Wales, with the Buckinghamshire side confirming the news via their website.[23] Dean Lewington took charge temporarily, overseeing the first two league games of the 2021–22 season.

On Friday 13 August 2021, MK Dons announced that former Lommel SK manager Liam Manning had been officially appointed as the Football Club's new head coach.[24] Liam guided the Dons to a 3rd-place finish in EFL League One that season, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Wycombe Wanderers in the play off semi final.

After only picking up 5 wins from the first 20 league games in the following season, MK Dons parted company with Liam Manning on the 11th December 2022. Dean Lewington again took temporary charge of the team until a new head coach was announced.

On Friday 23 December 2022, Mark Jackson was announced as the new Milton Keynes Dons head coach. After managing only 6 wins from 25 league games, MK Dons were relegated on the final day of the 2022–23 season following a 0–0 draw with Burton because Cambridge United beat Forest Green Rovers 2–0 to lift themselves out of the relegation zone. Jackson was sacked 2 days later.

On Saturday 27 May 2023, Graham Alexander was announced to be taking over as head coach.

Mike Williamson was the latest MK Dons manager.[25] He departed on 19th September 2024 to take up the role of head coach at Carlisle Utd.[26]

List of managers

[edit]
Statistics are correct as of 25 September 2024.[11]
Name Nationality From To Matches Won Drawn Lost Win % Notes
Stuart Murdoch  Scotland 7 August 2004 8 November 2004 21 5 5 11 023.81 [1][2][n 1]
Jimmy Gilligan  England 8 November 2004 7 December 2004 4 2 0 2 050.00 Caretaker[3]
Danny Wilson  Northern Ireland 7 December 2004 21 June 2006 81 25 32 24 030.86 [4]
Martin Allen  England 21 June 2006 25 May 2007 46 25 9 12 054.35 [6][7]
Paul Ince  England 25 June 2007 21 June 2008 55 35 11 9 063.64 [8][9]
Roberto di Matteo  Italy 3 July 2008 30 June 2009 41 22 7 12 053.66 [12][10]
Paul Ince  England 3 July 2009 10 May 2010 44 22 4 18 050.00 [13]
Karl Robinson  England 10 May 2010 23 October 2016 346 147 81 118 042.49 [27]
Richie Barker  England 23 October 2016 3 December 2016 8 2 3 3 025.00 Caretaker[27]
Robbie Neilson  Scotland 3 December 2016 20 January 2018 66 26 16 24 039.39 [28]
Dan Micciche  England 23 January 2018 22 April 2018 16 3 3 10 018.75 [29]
Keith Millen  England 22 April 2018 6 June 2018 3 1 0 2 033.33 Caretaker[16]
Paul Tisdale  England 6 June 2018 3 November 2019 73 31 13 29 042.47 [17]
Russell Martin  Scotland 3 November 2019 1 August 2021 80 30 19 31 037.50 [21][22]
Dean Lewington  England 1 August 2021 13 August 2021 1 0 1 0 000.00 Interim[30]
Liam Manning  England 13 August 2021 11 December 2022 83 40 15 28 048.19 Head Coach[24][31]
Dean Lewington  England 11 December 2022 23 December 2022 2 1 0 1 050.00 Interim[31]
Bradley Johnson  England 20 December 2022 20 December 2022 1 0 0 1 000.00 Interim[32]
Mark Jackson  England 23 December 2022 9 May 2023 25 6 9 10 024.00 Head Coach[33]
Graham Alexander  Scotland 27 May 2023

16 October 2023

16 6 4 6 037.50 Head Coach[34]
Mike Williamson  England 17 October 2023 19 September 2024 45 22 5 18 048.89 Head Coach[35]
Dean Lewington  England 20 September 2024 25 September 2024 1 0 1 0 000.00 Interim[31]
Scott Lindsey  England 25 September 2024 Present 0 0 0 0 !— Interim[31]

Records

[edit]

Nationalities

[edit]

As of 18 September 2024 (including caretakers & head coaches)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Stuart Murdoch was the manager of Wimbledon before the club was renamed in 2004. The date of Milton Keynes Dons's first league match, 7 August 2004, was agreed in 2006 to be the date on which Murdoch ceased to manage Wimbledon and began to manage Milton Keynes Dons.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Murdoch takes reins". BBC. 25 June 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Murdoch axed by Dons". BBC. 8 November 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Farewell to Jim and Martyn". Milton Keynes Dons F.C. 22 December 2004. Retrieved 29 April 2008.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b "Wilson named Milton Keynes boss". BBC. 7 December 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e Richard Rundle. "Football Club History Database – Milton Keynes Dons". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Dons appoint new manager". BBC. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Allen named new Leicester manager". BBC Whilst Allen had spent a lot of money transforming the team, he continues to receive mixed reviews for his period as manager. Some praised him for prevent successive promotions which many in the football community had expected as well as recruiting key players for the following campaign. However 'long ball tactics', disappointing highly paid signings and failure at the play-offs left others disappointed with his spell. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  8. ^ a b "Ince unveiled as new MK Dons boss". BBC. 25 June 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Blackburn appoint Ince as manager". BBC. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  10. ^ a b "Di Matteo appointed MK Dons coach". BBC. 2 July 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  11. ^ a b "Manager History for MK Dons (formerly Wimbledon)". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  12. ^ a b "Baggies confirm Di Matteo as boss". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Ince reappointed as MK Dons boss". BBC. 3 July 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  14. ^ "MK Dons reject Blackpool approach to speak to manager Karl Robinson". guardian.co.uk. Press Association. 16 January 2013.
  15. ^ "Robbie Neilson: Milton Keynes Dons manager leaves club by 'mutual consent'". BBC Sport. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Dan Micciche: MK Dons part company with manager". BBC Sport. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Paul Tisdale: MK Dons appoint former Exeter City boss as new manager". BBC Sport. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  18. ^ "League Two Manager of the Month: Paul Tisdale". EFL.com. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  19. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons 1–0 Mansfield Town". BBC Sport. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Paul Tisdale: MK Dons part company with manager after third successive loss". BBC Sport. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  21. ^ a b "MK Dons: Russell Martin appointed manager after Paul Tisdale sacked". BBC Sport. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Russell Martin: MK Dons manager quits playing to focus on new role". BBC Sport. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Statement: Russell Martin". www.mkdons.com. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Liam Manning named Head Coach of MK Dons". www.mkdons.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  25. ^ Mike Williamson exclusive interview: MK Dons' head coach not yet targeting promotion from League Two. skysports.com.
  26. ^ [1]. skysports.com.
  27. ^ a b "Club statement: Karl Robinson". Milton Keynes Dons Official Site. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  28. ^ "Neilson named MK Dons manager". Milton Keynes Dons Official Site. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  29. ^ "Dan Micciche: MK Dons appoint ex-England youth coach as new manager". BBC Sport. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  30. ^ "Lewington to take interm [sic] care of MK Dons". mkdons.com. 3 August 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d "Statement: Liam Manning". mkdons.com. 11 December 2022.
  32. ^ "Norwich City: Bradley Johnson makes MK Dons managerial debut". edp24.co.uk. 21 December 2022.
  33. ^ "Mark Jackson named MK Dons Head Coach". Milton Keynes Dons Official Site. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  34. ^ "MK Dons appoint Graham Alexander as Head Coach". Milton Keynes Dons Official Site. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  35. ^ "Mike Williamson: MK Dons appoint Gateshead manager as head coach". 27 October 2023.
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