Dons will go with the majority in League One vote

MK Dons will remain firmly on the fence when it comes to the future of the 2019/20 League One season, which is set to be decided next week.

Clubs at both ends of the table are fighting it out to either play the remainder of the season, or to end it now in a bid to stave off relegation or to seek a last-ditch attempt at promotion.

Dons currently sit 18th in the table, five points above the relegation zone. With a points-per-game (PPG) system being touted, Dons would avoid relegation, leaving Tranmere, Southend and Bolton in the drop zone to League Two.

But with the debate ongoing at both ends of the league, Executive Director Andrew Cullen says Dons' position is clear - go with the majority.

"Our position all along has been that we'll be consistent with what the league wants to do," he said. "That's the same process we took with player deferrals with wages - we didn't want to ask the players to do something no-one else was doing. This situation is exactly the same – if the majority want to continue, then we'll continue.

"There is a lot of dialogue to go ahead in the next few days, and a lot of clubs will be lobbying each other! Our first duty is to MK Dons, but we recognise we're a part of a league, and we want to see that league intact with all its members. We all saw the chaos which kicked off in August when Bury were expelled, and that has compromised sporting integrity this season, with clubs having weeks off and Bolton fielding a youth team until the end of August.

"But if we cannot carry on, we're happy with points per game as a solution, with promotion and play-offs. We will look again at the solutions, what it means economically and for integrity."

League Two clubs voted last week to end the season, to allow promotion and relegation with a play-off campaign in place, but it took owners of Port Vale and Bradford to give up their chance of a play-off spot to do so. In League One, clubs like Sunderland and Peterborough, who would miss out on a play-off position in the PPG method, are eager to have the season resume, while Tranmere want to play on to avoid relegation.

"It's a minefield, because there are so many vested interests," Mr Cullen contunued. "I feel for Peterborough, Sunderland and Tranmere because they will be most affected by this. What they're trying to do at the moment is make a lot of noise, and I completely understand and empathise because it's right for their football clubs, and rightly they want to play on.

"But on the other side of the coin, there are other clubs who could go out of business by playing on. It's so difficult to divorce yourself from the argument."