Lewie vows to help Dons out of their relegation battle

A clash with former Dons boss Robbie Neilson had seen Lewington training with Charlton Athletic - under another former Dons manager Karl Robinson - since November.

Following Neilson's dismissal on Saturday night, Lewington returned to the fold with Edu Rubio's U23s side as they took on Forest Green Rovers on Monday night before taking up a player-coach role with new Dons boss Dan Micciche on Tuesday.

But with the club sitting 21st in League 1 after defeat to Northampton on Saturday, Lewington says it has to be all hands on deck to get out of the relegation battle.

"We have to realise it's a relegation battle, so it will be all hands on deck," he told MKDons.com. "We need to get to 52 points.

"The squad is very young and a few older faces helps. The advantage we have over previous seasons is that we have the quality to get out.

"In the Championship season, we didn't lack heart or effort, just that little bit of quality.

"But at the moment we're under-performing. If we can get them going, we can do something. We need to start winning games and building momentum."

Lewington thanked Charlton and Robinson for taking him in during the last few months, but now he is back, he hopes he can use his experience to help Micciche however he can.

He said: "I'm happy to be back. With the new management staff, it's exciting to be part of that adventure as well.

"I'm very grateful to Charlton and to Karl for looking after me so well. It was good to get out there and play again - it had been a few months since my last game. But a game really gets everything going.

"Hopefully, now I'm back I can help out where I can, whether it's back in the squad or playing, I can be used in whatever way."