The MK Dons head coach has been backed by a top manager

Veteran football manager Tony Pulis believes Paul Warne is the perfect man to guide MK Dons out of League One next season.

Warne is certainly no stranger to League One promotions, with four under his belt for Rotherham United and Derby County during his managerial career.

His fifth promotion as a head coach came last season when he guided Dons from League Two as runners-up to Bromley, but they are expected to be scrapping at the sharper end of the table again next season as they set their sights on the Championship.

Pulis, who has two managerial promotions under his belt, has backed Warne to find the right formula at MK1 to help them reach the Championship for the second time in their history.

Speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest football odds, he said: “Paul has been in the game, and he’s done a fantastic job at a well-run football club, and a new club in respect to the traditions of the game, but they’re a club that is going places.

“In Paul they’ve got a manager who knows his football and will know what’s needed.”

Having bought in several recruits from League One last season, including the likes of Callum Paterson, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Will Collar and Aaron Collins, Dons are expected to adapt to the third tier quickly.

Pulis added that Dons should be aware that the step up will see the level of physicality needed in some games diminish, but the focus on key men in both boxes will be paramount to winning games.

He continued: “Paul Warne and his players have got to recognise there’s a step up now in the physicality that is needed. Games are won and lost in both boxes.

“If you’ve got someone who will score you some goals at one end, and a goalkeeper who can keep the ball out at the other, that’s really necessary, and then you build around it.”