Bulk of Dons’ recruitment has now been done but signings remain on the horizon

Twelve players have already arrived through the doors at MK Dons this summer, and Liam Manning believes, while the majority of their work has been done, there will still be business done in the next couple of weeks.

The season kicks off on Saturday with a trip to take on Cambridge United at The Abbey Stadium, but the return of football does not see the transfer window closing - in fact clubs will have another month to get more business over the line.

Almost every area of the pitch has been bolstered with a new face or two, and there remains two loan spots left in the squad, following the arrivals of Jamie Cumming and Henry Lawrence from Chelsea and Louie Barry from Aston Villa.

And with the large turnover in the squad again, Manning believes the hard work has been done in the transfer window already, with a few final pieces to fall into place.

“The large chunk has now been done, and I’m excited to seeing what this group can do,” he said. “There might be a little bit of chance in the next few weeks, with a few more to do. We'll keep looking at it.

“We've been clear about making the right decisions for the club and group.

“We've built a team that will be here for a period, that can hopefully bring short, medium and long-term success. We have real clarity at this club of what we are and where we're going and that gives us an advantage in what we're doing.

“We've got some terrific players through the door and we've recruited a lot of potential, so I'm excited to see where some of the players and this team can get to in the future.

“We have to be realistic with the gelling, relationships and alignment because it takes time. It's on us as a staff to develop that, and churn out high-level performances.”