'Disrespectful' Manchester United boss fuelled MK Dons to their most famous win

Dean Bowditch believes former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal was disrespectful towards MK Dons on a night which turned into one of the club’s greatest ever nights.

The now infamous 4-0 victory for Dons back in August 2014 remains one of the biggest League Cup shocks of all time, with braces from Will Grigg and Benik Afobe firing Karl Robinson’s League One side to an unexpected win over the Premier League giants at a sold-out Stadium MK.

Heading into the game, few gave Dons a chance against United, with five of their squad having played in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil just months earlier.

Bowditch, who started the game at MK1, said the ex-United boss, who was still getting his feet under the table at Old Trafford, gave Dons ammunition ahead of the game which they used as fuel for their fire on the night.

“Louis van Gaal was quite disrespectful to Milton Keynes at the time,” said Bowditch. “I think that fuelled a lot of us.

“Going into the game, we wanted to win it, we weren’t just happy to go out and put on a performance, we wanted to win it. We had a great squad, a great group and some standout individuals as well.

“I think they underestimated us, looking at the team-sheet.”

Leading through Grigg’s first-half opener, he netted again just after the hour by chesting home Ben Reeves’ cross, before being replaced by Arsenal loanee Afobe who netted a brace of his own to complete the rout.

While the footballing world was shocked, Bowditch admitted it was not just fans of the game who were blown away.

He continued: “The best part of the game for me was after I’d come off, and I remember when the fourth goal went in. I looked around and I was just sat shaking my head. Our kitman Tony turned around and asked me if I was alright, but I just could not believe it. We were beating Manchester United 4-0, it was just ridiculous.

“It was a momentous moment, and one we can continue to talk about.”

The result proved to be just the start of a remarkable season for Dons, who would go on to finish second and secure automatic promotion to the Championship - their highest ever finish to this day.

Putting together a group of players who would go on to have excellent careers, Bowditch said it turned into the perfect storm for Dons, all fuelled by their win over United.

He added: “I remember Benik joining us, he’d had injuries but we gave him a chance. Griggy was making a name for himself, but he wasn’t on fire yet, and Dele was having a great season but he was still our boy. It just all clicked at the same time.

“Benik had the half-season of his life which sent him onto bigger and better things, Griggy had the season of his life, so we were very lucky.”