A long time coming for MK Dons as they finally escape League Two

It has been 1,084 days, 157 games, 54 players, six head coaches, and two different owners to finally get MK Dons back to League One.

Saturday’s 3-0 win over Tranmere Rovers ensured automatic promotion from League Two, and sent Paul Warne’s side to the top of the league with one game remaining. The party could still continue next week, where a win over Fleetwood Town could secure the club their first league title since 2008 - and the aforementioned numbers since that date are enough to make you wince.

The relegation from League One back in 2023 came just a year after one of the best in the club’s history, so there is a level of irony that after the club’s worst ever, when they finished 19th in League Two, to not just secure their return to the third tier, but also put them in position to top the division when the singing stops.

The turnaround in the last 12 months though might not have come as an entire surprise, despite the improvement of at least 17 positions on last term’s finish.

The first piece of the puzzle came at the tail end of last season with the appointment of Paul Warne. With it came the rejuvenation of the squad, a clean slate for those players who limped over the line last season, and an injection of proven quality over the summer to, when necessary, simply out-muscle teams to barge their way to results that previous iterations of the team would not be able to.

The likes of Callum Paterson and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, then later Curtis Nelson brought with them an increase in standards and expectations, a new professionalism level at Stadium MK, dragging with them the club as a whole.

But while the side needed significant upgrading, those weary soldiers of last season emerged having shaken off the PTSD to become some of the biggest-part players.

Taking their time to gel as a side, Dons hit the gas in early October. The home win over Gillingham would be significant. Not only was it against a side fighting at the sharp end, it also signalled the end of a bumpy home spell, with their form at MK1 soon to become the bedrock of their campaign. Since then, they lost just once on home turf in League Two.

Warne’s side would also prove an ominous proposition away from home, boasting the division’s best record on the road too.

Getting over the line at long last is no mean feat, and something the club has managed just three times previously in their history. A run of 14 unbeaten games saw them hit the gas again through January and February, while a league-wide wobble made more of a spectacle of the promotion race in the middle of last month.

It was not until today though that Dons would finally overcome Bromley, who led the pack for nearly four months. Their win over the Ravens at Stadium MK a couple of weeks ago reignited their title aspirations, and while Andy Woodman’s side appear to have let a seven-point advantage slip through their fingers, Warne’s are now in pole position to lift the trophy at Fleetwood next week.

For now, promotion is to be celebrated, enjoyed and savoured. There were some dark times along the many motorway miles covered in the last three seasons.

And though there are still 396 miles remaining, the destination at the end is finally a return to League One.