Boateng disappointed with a lack of game time this season

After making his 20th substitute appearance of the season on Saturday, Liam Manning said Hiram Boateng has been disappointed with the number of minutes he has been given.

The 26-year-old midfielder was frozen out by former boss Russell Martin at MK Dons, but following his departure to Swansea City, Boateng was welcomed back into the fold and made an immediate impact, netting Dons’ third in the 3-3 draw with Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the season.

But despite being welcomed back into the fold at Stadium MK, Boateng has made only eight league starts this term, coming off the bench 20 times - ten of those since the turn of the year.

Coming on against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, Boateng helped give Dons more of a presence going forwards in a lively half-hour appearance in place of the injured Mo Eisa.

His outings though have not been as regular as he would have liked, head coach Manning said, going on to praise the midfielder’s professionalism this season.

“Hiram has not had the minutes he would have wanted this season,” Manning said. “I cannot speak highly enough of him as a professional and as a person. He turns up, trains to his maximum every day.

“And you saw it against Sheffield Wednesday, he deserved the minutes and made a really big impact when he came on.”