MK Dons are staying quietly confident ahead of the new season

League One is shaping up to be one of the toughest in years but MK Dons are expected to be battling at the top end of it this season.

Head coach Paul Warne has said he is not expecting a year of consolidation after returning to the third tier for the first time in three years, with the club having gone big this summer with the capture of Rotherham striker Sam Nombe in particular, bringing him back to Milton Keynes where he began his career.

Warne has been very open about his ambitions this season, while chief executive Neil Hart was not willing to add any further pressure on the head coach but admitted both he and the Kuwaiti ownership group are eager for more success this season.

He said: “Not to put any pressure on anyone, but Fahad and the board purchased the club, invested their money and supported us all and they want to be successful. There are targets and we want to deliver them.

“It won’t be easy, it will be a long old season, there will be ups and downs. In Paul, we have a brilliant manager who has been there and done it, very experienced and is great to work with. And in his backroom staff, with Richie and Darren and now Andy, we’ve got brilliant people there too.

“In the squad, we have all the ingredients there, we’ve added to the core group and we’re trying to do more there too.

“Everything is there to go and be successful but there are many other clubs where it has all been there but you’ve got to go out and do it.”

Hart admitted though that Dons are not the only ones with that ambition this season, believing any of around 15 teams in League One will be harbouring aspirations of playing Championship football in 2027.

He added: “There are some big teams in League One, Championship pedigree. Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday will give it a real go, Luton and Plymouth will be strong, teams like Bradford and Stockport who are always very competitive, there will always be a team that comes from nowhere as well.

“It’s a tough league, and we have to go into that and take it on.”