Losing players is a risk Winkelman is willing to take

Of the first team, Scott Wootton and Ed Upson are out of contract, while youngsters Ben Tilney, Oran Jackson, Connor Furlong and Giorgio Rasulo could also walk away this summer.

Without a manager, Dons are also at risk of missing out on early signings when the transfer window re-opens in June.

However, the chairman though says any player decisions must be up to the new manager, and if any of the players out of contract choose to walk away, then it is a risk he is willing to take.

"I'm not too worried about the transfers," he told iFollow MK Dons. "We've got Liam Sweeting heading up our recruitment analysis, but we're in touch everyone and know everything that's going on. Deals will start getting done in June before people go into pre-season training.

"On our younger players, we have a development plan, but if contracts are up and we lose a player because of that, I'm afraid we'll have to take that risk. I want to give the manager the most opportunity to influence the squad that he gets.

"At the end of the day, we know the squad isn't good enough, and if it's not good enough for League 1 it won't be good enough for League 2. There is work to be done, but we've got plenty of time for that."